Harborside 3 in Jersey City, the home of Mack-Cali Realty Corp.’s headquarters — Courtesy: Mack-Cali Realty Corp.
By Joshua Burd
Mitchell Rudin has stepped down as vice chairman of Mack-Cali Realty Corp., a position he held for just over a year after about two years as the company’s CEO.
The real estate investment trust on Friday announced Rudin’s departure, noting that he was leaving to pursue other opportunities. His exit marks the end of his three-year tenure with Mack-Cali, during which he and current CEO Michael DeMarco oversaw major changes in the company’s sprawling office portfolio.
“All of us here at Mack-Cali would like to thank Mitch for his hard work and contributions to the strategic repositioning of Mack-Cali,” DeMarco said. “Our success to date has been a team effort, in which he played an integral part. I wish him all the best in his future endeavors.”
DeMarco and Rudin both joined the company in June 2015, forming the two-man team that replaced longtime CEO and President Mitchell Hersh. Rudin assumed the title of CEO, while DeMarco was named president and chief operating officer.
They led an effort to divest Mack-Cali of what had been a vast collection of aging, underperforming suburban office buildings across New Jersey and the region. In 2017 alone, the REIT sold $528 million worth of property, while DeMarco projected it would sell another roughly $400 million worth in 2018.
The Jersey City-based company executed that strategy while focusing on its properties along the Hudson waterfront and in higher-end suburban submarkets, all of which are now undergoing major renovations. Mack-Cali has also ramped up its multifamily construction pipeline through its Roseland Residential Trust subsidiary.
In April 2017, the REIT announced that DeMarco would become CEO and that Rudin would become vice chairman. A Securities and Exchange Commission filing on Friday said Rudin’s last day with the company was June 5. The 8-K filing cited a separation agreement under which he will receive a lump sum cash payment of more than $2.5 million.
Rudin is a former CEO and president of U.S. commercial operations for Brookfield Office Properties. Previously, he was CEO and president of the New York Tri-State region for CBRE.
