Mack-Cali Realty Names MaryAnne Gilmartin Interim CEO

MaryAnne Gilmartin, Interim CEO, Mack-Cali Realty Corp. Image courtesy of Mack-Cali Realty Corp.

Mack-Cali Realty Corp. has named Board Chair MaryAnne Gilmartin as interim CEO, succeeding Michael J. DeMarco, as the board of the NYSE-listed real estate investment trust searches for a permanent chief executive. The new appointment is effective immediately, according to a statement by the REIT, which owns, manages and develops office and multifamily properties throughout New Jersey.

The board has also tapped Tammy K. Jones, founder and CEO of Basis Investment Group, to serve as lead independent director. Jones, who has more than 25 years of real estate experience, joined the board following the company’s 2020 annual meeting this month.

READ ALSO: Mack-Cali to Sell Suburban Office/Flex Assets for $488M

Mack-Cali reached an agreement with Bow Street last month under which the REIT reconstituted the nine-member board to include eight directors that had been nominated by the activist investor. In its latest announcement, Mack-Cali said it had formed a committee to oversee the search for a permanent CEO.

Development veteran

Gilmartin has served as a director at Mack-Cali since June 2019. The prominent executive is founder and CEO of MAG Partners, a private development firm that she spun off from L&L MAG last year. MAG Partners will continue to operate under internal leadership during Gilmartin’s tenure as interim chief executive at Mack-Cali. Gilmartin is also a director of global investment banking firm Jefferies Group LLC.

As a longtime executive at Forest City Ratner Cos., Gilmartin spearheaded the development of some of the most high-profile projects in New York City including the New York Times Building, Barclays Center, and the 22-acre Pacific Park (formerly known as Atlantic Yards) mixed-use development in Brooklyn. Gilmartin most recently served as CEO and President at Forest City, before teaming up with L&L Holdings Co. founders David Levinson and Robert Lapidus to launch L&L MAG in 2018.

The executive serves on the Board of Governors of The Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY) and as a member of the Industry Advisory Board of the MS Real Estate Development Program at Columbia University. Gilmartin also sits on the Executive Committee of The Brooklyn Academy of Music and serves as vice chair of New York Public Radio.