Dive Brief:

• Centerspace announced that executive vice president, chief operating officer and general counsel Anne Olson will replace Mark Decker Jr. as the company's president and CEO on March 31. 
• Olson will also join the board of the Minot, South Dakota-based REIT. Decker will continue his current board term through May and will remain an advisor during that time to ensure a smooth transition, the company announced on March 23.
• During Decker’s six-year tenure leading the company, Centerspace entered Denver, acquired approximately $1.5 billion of apartments and transformed from a diversified REIT into a focused owner and operator of apartment homes. The company owns 13,498 units in Colorado, Minnesota, Montana, Nebraska, North Dakota and South Dakota. 

Dive Insight:

Olson joined Centerspace in 2017 and has served in her current role since June 2018. Prior to joining Centerspace, she was a partner in Dorsey & Whitney's real estate practice group. At the Minneapolis-based law firm, she focused on development and investment real estate for publicly traded and publicly registered REITs, private equity funds and national developers.

As Olson takes the helm at Centerspace, the REIT's ongoing efforts to improve portfolio quality and balance sheet strength will continue. 

"Anne has been an integral part of overseeing the strategic transformation of the company's portfolio during her time at Centerspace and has led the buildout of the company's operational and technology platforms," John Schissel, chairman of the company's board of directors, said in the press release. "She has a track record of success at Centerspace, deep leadership experience and extensive industry knowledge that make her the clear choice to lead the company in its next chapter.” 

Alexander Goldfarb, managing director and senior research analyst of REITs at investment bank and financial services company Piper Sandler & Co., was surprised by Centerspace’s announcement because of the short notice and the fact that REIT CEOs tend to stay in their jobs for decades.

“Given CEO transitions are often announced or telegraphed well in advance, this one comes as a surprise,” Goldfarb wrote.

Olson said the executive transition was part of a succession planning process.

“As Mark decided to leave it was one of his requests that I become the CEO, and that had been in the works,” she told Multifamily Dive. “I've spent a lot of time over the last couple of years with our investors, working on earnings calls and cross-training across organizations. So, this is a plan of succession and we feel good about the opportunity in front of us and really grateful to Mark for what he did for the company.”

Centerspace’s C-suite has gone through a “near-complete” transition in the past two years, according to Goldfarb. 

“Given Anne's experience as COO and anticipation that CFO Bhairav Patel will take over the public markets outreach that Mark handled, the executive team will be slimmed down to just two people, as the COO role will not be backfilled,” Goldfarb wrote. “We assume that [general and administrative] savings in 2023 is offset by the contractual CEO transition payment, but 2024 should see the savings.”

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