CHICAGO, Ill. – General Growth Properties Inc., the shopping mall owner planning to exit bankruptcy next month, plans to keep its top two executives in place while searching for a new management team.
Adam Metz, CEO, and Thomas Nolan, president and COO, have agreed to stay in their positions for as long as a year after General Growth completes its restructuring, the Chicago-based company said in a statement on Tuesday.
“We are pleased to help position the company for the next chapter in its growth story and ensure a smooth transition for employees, shareholders and tenants while the board of directors selects a permanent management team,” Metz said in the statement.
General Growth – owner of Providence Place and the Silver City Galleria in Taunton – filed the biggest U.S. real estate bankruptcy in April 2009 after amassing $27 billion in debt making acquisitions. The company’s exit from bankruptcy is being financed by a group led by Brookfield Asset Management Inc. Investors in the restructuring include Fairholme Capital Management LLC and Pershing Square Capital Management LP.
Metz and Nolan joined General Growth, the second-largest U.S. mall owner, in October 2008 following the resignations of John Bucksbaum from the CEO position and Robert Michaels from the post of president.
Metz is a founding partner of closely held Polaris Capital LLC, former chief investment officer of real estate fund Rodamco North America NV, and former CFO for real estate investment trust Urban Shopping Centers Inc. Nolan is a former managing director of Trefethen & Co., a closely held real estate advisory and investment company.
