The Real Deal New York

Owen Thomas is CEO of Boston Properties, one of the nation’s largest landlords and developers. The publicly traded firm controls more than 50 million square feet of commercial space nationally, including such gems such as the General Motors Building and the Times Square Tower in Manhattan. Its holdings in the New York region total more than 11.5 million square feet.

The selection of the 51-year-old Thomas in early 2013 to lead Boston Properties’ overall operations surprised some—it was long assumed that the firm’s president, Doug Linde, was being groomed for the job. As it was, Thomas succeeded Boston Properties co-founder and chairman Mort Zuckerman, who took over the CEO role, too, in 2010, when co-founder Ed Linde, Doug’s father, died.

Before moving to Boston Properties, Thomas had extensive executive experience in the banking world. He was CEO of Morgan Stanley Asia, among other top titles at that firm, such as head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate. He also chaired for year the board of directors of the holding company for failed bank Lehman Brothers.

Thomas earned a mechanical engineering degree from the University of Virginia and an MBA from Harvard.