DDR Corp. Appoints New COO

William Ross

Beachwood, Ohio—DDR Corp. recently announced the appointment of William Ross as COO. Ross will start working for the real estate investment company in January and will oversee asset management and property management, reporting directly to President & CEO Tom August.

In this position, Ross will work closely with the full leadership team of the Beachwood-based company and especially with Vince Corno, executive vice president of leasing and development, on all operational initiatives. Ross will focus on improving same-store net operating income and cash flow at property and portfolio levels.

Prior to joining the company, he served almost 10 years as executive vice president of asset management for Forest City Realty Trust. In this role, he oversaw 85 properties totaling 22 million square feet and provided strategic oversight on leasing, operations, capital expenditures, and redevelopments across the portfolio. He also held leadership positions with General Electric and GE Transportations, where he worked as business development manager. Ross spent six years as a consultant for McKinsey & Co. and two years as business analyst for Deloitte Consulting.

He holds a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting and Finance from Miami University and a Master of Business Administration degree in Finance from The University of Chicago Booth School of Business.

“We are very pleased to announce the addition of Bill Ross to our executive team. Bill is a seasoned retail real estate executive who will provide a fresh perspective for how to strategically view our portfolio as well as dive into operations and drive asset-level cash flow growth. With his experience working with retail leasing, he will be able to work closely with Vince Corno and the leasing and development teams to continue our efforts of driving strong operational performance.  Given Bill and Vince’s significant retail real estate backgrounds, the operational side of the organization is extremely well-prepared to address the rapidly changing retail landscape,” said CEO August in a prepared statement.

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