Corporate Governance

Ms. Aeppel has more than 35 years of experience in property acquisitions, development and financing. She established a hotel investment and advisory company, Glencove Capital, in 2010, and serves as its President and Chief Executive Officer. From 2008 to 2010, Ms. Aeppel served as Chief Investment Officer of Andre Balazs Properties, an owner, developer and operator of luxury hotels. From 2006 to 2008, she served as Executive Vice President of Acquisitions and Development for Loews Hotels and as a member of its Executive Committee. From 2004 to 2006, she was a principal of Aeppel and Associates, a hospitality advisory development company, during which time she assisted Fairmont Hotels and Resorts in expanding in the United States and Europe. Earlier in her career, Ms. Aeppel held executive positions with Le Meridien Hotels, Interstate Hotels and Resorts, Inc., FFC Hospitality, LLC, Holiday Inn Worldwide and Marriott Corporation.

Ms. Aeppel serves on the boards of three private companies: Exclusive Resorts, Gilbane, Inc. and Concord Hospitality Enterprises.

Ms. Aeppel received a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and an undergraduate degree from Principia College.

Mr. Brown is a Co-Founder and Managing Partner of Asana Partners, a private real estate investment company, which he helped found in 2015. Prior to that he was Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of EDENS, one of the country’s leading private owners, operators and developers of retail real estate. Mr. Brown joined EDENS as its Chief Executive Officer in 2002 after serving as Chief Executive Officer of Andersen Corporate Finance LLC (a NASD broker-dealer subsidiary of Arthur Andersen LLP), where he was responsible for strategy and investment banking activities on a global basis across the real estate, manufacturing, technology, services and energy industries.

Mr. Brown is a summa cum laude graduate of the University of Georgia with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree.

Mr. Havner serves as the non-executive Chairman of the Board of Public Storage, a publicly traded self-storage facility real estate investment trust (“REIT”). Mr. Havner was the Chief Executive Officer of Public Storage for 16 years, until he retired from that role in 2018, and he has served as Chairman of the Board of Public Storage since 2011. From 2018 until 2023, Mr. Havner served as the non-executive Chairman of Shurgard Self-Storage, SA., where he is currently chairman emeritus and a consultant.

Mr. Havner is a previous Chairman of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“Nareit”). Mr. Havner holds a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from the University of California, Los Angeles.

Mr. Hills joined the Georgetown University Law Center in 2016 as the Founding Director of the law school’s Business Law Scholars Program. Prior to joining Georgetown Law, Mr. Hills worked for 28 years with The Washington Post, where he had served since 2002 as President and General Manager.

Mr. Hills holds an undergraduate degree from Yale University and a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School.

Dr. Howard has served as the Executive Vice President and Chief Operating Officer of Arizona State University since February 2022. Prior to that he served as the President of Robert Morris University (PA) from 2016 until January 2022. Before he was appointed to that position, Dr. Howard had been, since 2010, the President of Hampden-Sydney College and, before that, he served as Vice President for Leadership and Strategic Initiatives at the University of Oklahoma. Dr. Howard’s experience includes service in the military (he earned a Bronze Star for his service in Afghanistan in 2003) and in the private sector (he worked in a variety of capacities at both General Electric and Bristol-Myers Squibb). Dr. Howard serves and has served as a board member or trustee of a number of non-profits, including organizations focused on education and career advancement for military personnel and underprivileged youth.

Dr. Howard is a Distinguished Graduate of the U.S. Air Force Academy; the University of Oxford where, as a Rhodes Scholar, he earned his doctorate in politics; and the Harvard Business School with Distinction.

Mr. Lieb has been a Senior Advisor at Greenhill & Co., LLC, a publicly traded investment bank, since January 2019. Mr. Lieb served in several senior positions since joining Greenhill in 2005, including as Managing Director and Chairman of Real Estate at Greenhill from 2012 to January 2019 and Chief Financial Officer from 2008 to 2012. Prior to joining Greenhill, Mr. Lieb spent more than 20 years with Goldman, Sachs & Co., where he headed the Real Estate Investment Banking Department from 2000 to 2005. Mr. Lieb previously served as a director of CBL and Associates Properties from February 2016 until November 2021, and as a director of Vereit, Inc. from February 2017 until November 2021.

Mr. Lieb holds a Master of Business Administration from Harvard Business School and a BA from Wesleyan University.

Ms. Lynch founded Xylem Projects, a real estate development venture focused on creating mixed-use projects that serve residents and neighborhoods, in 2018, and serves as Xylem’s Chief Executive Officer. Prior to founding Xylem Projects, Ms. Lynch was Head of Development at The Georgetown Company, a real estate investment and development company that she joined in 2014. Earlier in her career, Ms. Lynch served for six years as a Senior Policy Advisor in the Bloomberg mayoral administration in New York City where, among other duties, she led initiatives that resulted in the redevelopment and construction of new housing and commercial spaces. In both the private sector and as a public employee, Ms. Lynch helped to plan and create affordable housing in New York City.

Ms. Lynch is Chair of the Board of Directors of New York Road Runners, a non-profit organization that coordinates the New York City Marathon and other races. She serves as a board member or trustee of a number of other non-profits, including the Van Alen Institute, which focuses on helping create equitable cities through inclusive design. She also serves on the Board of Trustees of Villanova University, where she serves on the Investment Committee, and the board of directors of Stake Network, a private company.

Mr. Mueller retired in October 2021 from full-time executive leadership positions after serving, since May 2018, as Chief Executive Officer at Progress Residential, one of the largest providers of single-family rental homes in the United States. Mr. Mueller remained as an employee and advisor to Progress Residential from October 2021 to March 2022. From 2015 to 2017, Mr. Mueller was President of Irvine Company Apartment Communities, an owner and operator of apartment communities across coastal California. From 2013 to 2015, Mr. Mueller was President and Chief Executive Officer of ConAm Management Corporation, a multifamily real estate investment and property management firm. From 1994 to 2013, Mr. Mueller held several positions with Archstone and its predecessors (collectively “Archstone”), including President, Chief Operating Officer and Chief Financial Officer. Prior to Archstone going private in 2007, it was one of the largest publicly traded multifamily REITs in the United States.

Mr. Mueller received his B.A. in real estate and finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

Mr. Naughton is AvalonBay’s Chairman of the Board. He served as Executive Chairman of the Board throughout 2022, as Chief Executive Officer from 2012 through January 2, 2022, and as President from 2005 until January 2021. Mr. Naughton has served as Chairman of the Board since 2013. Mr. Naughton’s prior roles at AvalonBay included Chief Operating Officer, Chief Investment Officer, and Regional Vice President – Development and Acquisitions. Mr. Naughton has been with AvalonBay and its predecessors since 1989. Mr. Naughton previously served as a director of Welltower, Inc. from 2013 until 2019.

Mr. Naughton is a former Chairman of Nareit, a member of The Real Estate Round Table, a member and past chairman of the Multifamily Council of the Urban Land Institute (“ULI”), and a member of the Real Estate Forum. He sits on the board of the Jefferson Scholars Foundation at the University of Virginia.

Mr. Naughton received his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 1987 and earned his undergraduate degree from the University of Virginia, where he was elected to Phi Beta Kappa.

Mr. Schall joined AvalonBay as President and a director in January 2021, and became Chief Executive Officer effective January 3, 2022. Before joining AvalonBay, Mr. Schall was the Chief Executive Officer and President and a trustee of Seritage Growth Properties, a publicly traded REIT principally engaged in owning, developing and managing a diversified portfolio of retail and mixed-use properties throughout the United States. Earlier in his career, Mr. Schall served as Chief Operating Officer of Rouse Properties, Inc., a publicly traded mall and retail REIT (since acquired) from 2012 to 2015, and as Senior Vice President of Vornado Realty Trust, a publicly traded REIT that owns, manages and develops office and retail assets, before that.

Mr. Schall is a member of the Executive Board of Nareit, an Executive Committee member of the National Multifamily Housing Council (“NMHC”), a member of the Real Estate Roundtable and a Trustee of the International Council of Shopping Centers. He serves as Co-Chair of the Board of University Settlement, a non-profit service provider in New York City. Mr. Schall received his Masters of Business Administration from Harvard Business School in 2003 and earned his undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.

Since 2010, Ms. Swanezy has been a partner at Hodes Weill & Associates L.P., a global advisory firm focused on the real estate investment management industry. Previously, Ms. Swanezy served as Managing Director, Global Head of Capital Raising for Real Estate Products at Credit Suisse Group AG. She also held a variety of positions at Deutsche Bank AG and its affiliates, including Partner and Managing Director – Client Relations for RREEF, the real estate investment management business of Deutsche Bank’s Asset Management division. In addition to her real estate experience, Ms. Swanezy brings a deep network of relationships and knowledge of both the public and private capital markets.

Ms. Swanezy has a BS degree from the School of Foreign Service, Georgetown University.

Mr. Walter served as the Global Chief Executive Officer for the ULI from 2018 until 2022. Prior to that he was the Robert and Lauren Steers Chair in Real Estate at the Steers Center for Global Real Estate at Georgetown University’s McDonough School of Business, where he continues to serve as an adjunct professor. He was President and Chief Executive Officer of Host Hotels and Resorts, Inc. (“Host”), a publicly traded premier lodging real estate company, from 2007 through 2016. Before assuming that role, he held several other senior positions at Host beginning in 1996, including four years as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer and two years as Chief Operating Officer.

Mr. Walter is past Chairman of Nareit, past Chairman of the Federal City Council, and a member of the Board of Visitors of the Georgetown University Law Center. Mr. Walter received his undergraduate degree from Colgate University and a law degree from Georgetown University.