Arthur Coppola announced that he will retire from his position as chairman and CEO of the Macerich Co. after service to the company and its predecessor for 42 years.
In connection with his plans to retire, he will not stand for re-election as a director at the company’s 2018 annual meeting of stockholders. Coppola is a founding partner of the original Macerich Group, which he joined in 1976.
Coppola’s retirement as CEO will be effective as of Dec. 31, 2018.
Steven Hash, who has been an independent member of the board since May 2015 and the board’s lead independent director since August 2017, has been appointed to the role of independent chairman, a non-executive role, effective as of the 2018 Annual Meeting. The board has commenced a process led by independent directors of the board for determining Coppola’s successor.
Coppola has been with the company since its formation in 1993 and its initial public offering in 1994. During his tenure as CEO, the company has grown from a privately held real estate enterprise with a total market capitalization of $600 million into an industry leading, S&P 500 publicly traded company with a total market capitalization of more than $16 billion.
Today, Macerich has a portfolio of 48 retail properties, totaling 54 million square feet, located in many of the country’s most attractive, densely populated markets, with significant presence in the Pacific Rim, Arizona, Chicago, and the New York Metro Area to Washington, D.C., corridor.
In addition, Coppola was a member of the board of governors or executive committee of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts from 2005 to 2010, served as the 2007 chair of the board of governors and received the 2009 NAREIT Industry Leadership Award. All told, Coppola has more than 42 years of experience in the shopping center industry.