BEACHWOOD, Ohio, 2016-Dec-15 — /EPR Retail News/ — DDR Corp. (NYSE: DDR) today (Dec 14, 2016) announced that it has named William T. Ross as chief operating officer, effective January 3, 2017.

Mr. Ross will oversee Asset Management and Property Management and will focus on improving same-store net operating income and cash flow at the property and portfolio levels. He will work closely with the full leadership team of DDR on all operational initiatives and especially with Vince Corno, executive vice president of leasing and development.  Mr. Ross and Mr. Corno will report directly to President and Chief Executive Officer Tom August.

Mr. Ross is a seasoned veteran of the retail real estate industry with extensive experience as a senior leader at Forest City Realty Trust as executive vice president of asset management since 2006.  In his role at Forest City, he oversaw 85 properties totaling 22 million square feet, and provided strategic oversight on leasing, operations, capital expenditures, and redevelopments across the portfolio.  While in that role, Mr. Ross also led many broad operational improvement and strategic initiatives across the organization.  Prior to his role in Asset Management, Mr. Ross was vice president of strategy and investment management at Forest City where he evaluated investment decisions and put in place core strategic processes for achieving profitable growth.

Prior to his time at Forest City, Mr. Ross was an executive at General Electric Company where he led M&A for one of GE’s major divisions.  He also spent six years as a consultant for McKinsey & Company, worked in venture capital, and ran a small sporting goods manufacturing company.  Mr. Ross earned his bachelor’s degree from Miami University and his MBA from the University of Chicago.

Tom August, chief executive officer of DDR, commented, “We are very pleased to announce the addition of Bill Ross to our executive team.  Bill is a seasoned retail real estate executive who will provide a fresh perspective for how to strategically view our portfolio as well as dive into operations and drive asset-level cash flow growth.  With his experience working with retail leasing, he will be able to work closely with Vince Corno and the leasing and development teams to continue our efforts of driving strong operational performance.  Given Bill and Vince’s significant retail real estate backgrounds, the operational side of the organization is extremely well-prepared to address the rapidly changing retail landscape.”

About DDR Corp.
DDR is an owner and manager of 327 value-oriented shopping centers representing 107 million square feet in 36 states and Puerto Rico. The company’s assets are concentrated in high barrier-to-entry markets with stable populations and high growth potential and its portfolio is actively managed to create long-term shareholder value. DDR is a self-administered and self-managed REIT operating as a fully integrated real estate company, and is publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange under the ticker symbol DDR. Additional information about the company is available at www.ddr.com.

Safe Harbor
DDR Corp. considers portions of the information in this press release to be forward-looking statements within the meaning of Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, both as amended, with respect to the Company’s expectation for future periods. Although the Company believes that the expectations reflected in such forward-looking statements are based upon reasonable assumptions, it can give no assurance that its expectations will be achieved. For this purpose, any statements contained herein that are not historical fact may be deemed to be forward-looking statements. There are a number of important factors that could cause our results to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements, including, among other factors, local conditions such as supply of space or a reduction in demand for real estate in the area; competition from other available space; dependence on rental income from real property; the loss of, significant downsizing of or bankruptcy of a major tenant; redevelopment and construction activities may not achieve a desired yield on investment; our ability to buy or sell assets on commercially reasonable terms; our ability to complete acquisitions or dispositions of assets under contract; our ability to secure equity or debt financing on commercially acceptable terms or at all; our ability to enter into definitive agreements with regard to our financing and joint venture arrangements or our failure to satisfy conditions to the completion of these arrangements; the success of our capital recycling strategy; and any impact on strategy or results from the transition and leadership. For additional factors that could cause the results of the Company to differ materially from those indicated in the forward-looking statements, please refer to the Company’s Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2015. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly revise these forward-looking statements to reflect events or circumstances that arise after the date hereof.

SOURCE: DDR Corp.