Wood Partners promoted Ryan L. Dearborn to Chief Executive Officer and Joseph Keough added the role of Chief Operating Officer to his Chief Financial Officer duties.
Dearborn, formerly President of Wood’s West Division, takes over for Jerry Durkin, who remains Chairman of the Board. The moves were part of a succession plan laid out in 2005. Durkin will continue to be a very active leader in the company as he pursues capital sources and business opportunities.
Keough will help drive an aggressive push in the new real estate cycle.
“We very much look forward to getting back on offense,” Dearborn says. “Our goals are modest this year, but as everything comes into place we expect to make a great push in the coming years.
“Supply-and-demand drivers never looked better—given the lack of new construction in recent years—and the economy is showing signs of a sustainable recovery.”
On the capital front, Keough says steady improvements in the capital markets are materializing with non-banking institutions such as insurance companies increasingly offering competitive debt products for both new construction and stabilized properties.
Additionally, the acquisition market has improved drastically over the past few quarters, increasing the value of Wood’s existing portfolio of nearly 15,000 units.
In 2010, the company again has started putting shovels in the dirt and by mid-year will have started six new development projects in Oakland, Boston, Denver, Atlanta, the Carolinas and Washington, D.C.
Wood Partners has offices and projects in Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, North Carolina, South Carolina, Texas and Virginia.