Stephen Blank

Biography

Mr. Stephen R. Blank is Independent Chairman of the Board of the Company. Mr. Blank was a Senior Fellow, Finance, at the Urban Land Institute, a non-profit education and research institute which studies land use and real estate development policy, from December 1998 until his retirement on December 31, 2014. Mr. Blank was a Managing Director — Real Estate Investment Banking of CIBC Oppenheimer Corp. from 1993 to 1998, Managing Director of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc.’s Real Estate Corporate Finance Department from 1989 to 1993, Managing Director — Real Estate Investment Banking of Kidder, Peabody & Co., Incorporated from 1979 to 1989, and Vice President, Direct Investment Group of Bache & Co., Incorporated from 1973 to 1979. Mr. Blank’s significant investment banking experience, relationships and familiarity with public equity offerings have been invaluable to the Trust in its capital raising activities in recent years. Through Mr. Blank’s significant leadership roles on the Board since June 2006, including his role as chair of the Trust’s Audit Committee and Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee and as a member of its Compensation Committee, he has facilitated the Board’s ability to perform its critical oversight function and such authority has given him critical insights to the Trust’s operations, organization and strategy. Mr. Blank also has extensive Board and Board committee experience at other public companies. Mr. Blank has served on the Board of Directors of MFA Financial, Inc., a real estate investment trust, since 2002 (currently the Chair of its Audit Committee and a member of its Compensation Committee). He previously served on the Board of Directors and Audit Committee of Home Properties, Inc. from 2009 to 2015 (and as Chair of its Audit Committee from 2011 to 2015) and also on its Compensation, Real Estate and Governance Committees at various times during 2009 to 2015. He also served on the Board of Directors of BNP Residential Properties, Inc.

Research Interest

Chemical Engineering Chemical technology Process Engineering Petrochemical Engineering