InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust Announces Executive Changes
08 December 2012 - 1:09AM
Marketwired
InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust ("InnVest") (TSX:INN.UN) today
announced that Kenneth Gibson is retiring as President and Chief
Executive Officer, effective immediately. Mr. Gibson has agreed to
serve in an advisory capacity to the Board of Trustees. The Board
of Trustees will commence a search process and has appointed
interim Chief Financial Officer Anthony Messina to serve as CEO
until a permanent replacement is found. The Board of Trustees also
announced the appointment of George Kosziwka as InnVest's new Chief
Financial Officer.
"I want to thank Kenny for his many years of dedicated service
to InnVest," said Majid Mangalji, Chairman of the Board of
Trustees. "Kenny has played a key role in building InnVest in the
decade since its inception - from taking the company public to
overseeing its growth to become Canada's largest hospitality
REIT."
"Serving as InnVest's CEO over the past decade has been a
rewarding experience," said Kenneth Gibson. "I am proud of what we
have achieved at InnVest during my tenure and am confident that I
leave behind a strong company poised for continued success in the
years ahead."
Mr. Mangalji also welcomed Messrs. Messina and Kosziwka to their
new roles. "We are fortunate to have two experienced executives
assume key leadership roles at InnVest. Anthony brings a diverse
real estate background of over 20 years, including demonstrated
investment leadership at one of the country's largest institutional
investors. He has played an integral role these past few months as
InnVest's interim CFO, giving him a great deal of familiarity with
our operations and making him an ideal choice to fill the role of
CEO as we complete this leadership transition," Mr. Mangalji
said.
"We also welcome George to his new position as CFO. George has
been InnVest's Vice President, Finance for the last 10 years where
he worked closely with the Board of Trustees and proved himself a
strong financial executive. He has over 20 years of financial
management and capital markets experience and a strong background
in the hospitality industry. We look forward to his ongoing
contributions in his new role."
Mr. Messina has more than 20 years of experience in the real
estate industry including financial management, hotel
development/ownership and privatization of public real estate
companies. Since 2009, Mr. Messina has served as the Managing
Director of Investments for Westmont Hospitality Group, responsible
for various real estate investments, capital raising and reporting
to institutional investors. Prior to joining Westmont, Mr. Messina
served for over eight years as Vice President for a global real
estate division of one of Canada's largest institutional investors,
Caisse de depot et placement du Quebec, where he was responsible
for world-wide real estate acquisitions and included asset
management until 2005. Previously, Mr. Messina held a series of
senior positions in real estate companies and was also an auditor
and real estate consultant at Deloitte. Mr. Messina holds a
Bachelor Degree in Finance from Concordia University and a Graduate
Degree in Public Accountancy from McGill University. He is also a
member of the Canadian Institute of Chartered Accountants.
Mr. Kosziwka has substantial hospitality real estate experience
having worked over 20 years in the industry. Mr. Kosziwka has been
involved in every aspect of InnVest's finances and has been an
integral part of each of its major financial transactions over the
last 10 years, including InnVest's IPO in 2002 and raising more
than $800 million in the capital markets over this period. Prior to
joining InnVest in 2002, he held senior finance executive positions
for predecessors of the REIT, including UniHost Corporation and
Journey's End Corporation. Mr. Kosziwka is also currently a
director of Choice Canada. Mr. Kosziwka holds an Honours Bachelor
of Mathematics from the University of Waterloo and is a Chartered
Accountant.
Trust Profile
InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust is an unincorporated
open-ended real estate investment trust which owns a portfolio of
137 hotels across Canada representing approximately 18,000 guest
rooms operated under internationally recognized brands. InnVest
also owns a 50% interest in Choice Hotels Canada Inc. one of the
largest franchisors of hotels in Canada.
InnVest's trust units and outstanding convertible debentures
trade on the Toronto Stock Exchange under the symbols INN.UN,
INN.DB.B, INN.DB.C, INN.DB.D, INN.DB.E and INN.DB.F.
Contacts: InnVest Real Estate Investment Trust Chantal Nappert
Executive Director, Investor Relations (905) 624-7806 (905)
206-7114 (FAX) www.innvestreit.com