New York-based Related Companies is set to see its first changing of the guard. During a speaking engagement at his alma mater, which now bears his name, the University of Michigan’s Ross School of Business, Stephen Ross, founder and CEO of Related Companies, said that he was resigning as chief executive and that Related President Jeff Blau is succeeding him, effective immediately.
Ross will continue to act as the company’s executive chairman, and as such he will manage global business strategy and development, as well as Related’s 26-acre Hudson Yards development. Ross has led Related for over three decades and has overseen real estate projects from New York to Abu Dhabi, raising billions in equity. According to the Michigan Daily, the announcement came during an unscripted conversation between Ross and Blau at a UM event.
Jeff Blau has been with Related for some 22 years and served as president since 2000. Blau sits on the board of directors of Equinox Holdings, the New York City Investment Fund and the Board of Trustees of the Mount Sinai Medical Center and Urban Land Institute, among others. Additional movements within the company, also announced today, include the promotion of Bruce Beal, Jr. to president and the advancement of Kenneth Wong; he will become chief operating officer and director of international development at Related.
“Jeff and Bruce have been my partners for over a decade,” Ross said in a press release sent out by Related. “They are exceptional businessmen and great leaders with extraordinary abilities, and under our collective stewardship we have executed on a strategic growth plan that has expanded our global reach and created new business platforms that further strengthen our industry leadership position.”
Ross added that Wong “has been critical to our international expansion and in his new role he will take on increased responsibility for the operations of the company.” [Michigan Daily] — Christopher Cameron