MEMPHIS, Tenn.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jernigan Capital, Inc. (NYSE:JCAP), a leading capital partner for self-storage entrepreneurs nationwide, today announced that Rebecca Owen and Randy Churchey will join the Company’s Board of Directors as independent members, effective immediately. With the additions of Ms. Owen and Mr. Churchey, the Board will expand to eight members.
Ms. Owen currently serves as Senior Vice President of Clark Enterprises, a private investment firm with a diversified investment portfolio ranging from private equity to real estate. Ms. Owen is also President of CEI Realty, Inc., an affiliate of Clark Enterprises that manages the company’s real estate portfolio valued at over $1 billion. Ms. Owen has been in senior leadership positions at Clark for over 20 years since joining Clark as General Counsel, and she currently serves on the Real Estate Investment Committee. Ms. Owen currently serves as a member of the Board of Carr Properties (a private REIT) and as chair of the Real Estate Investment Advisory Committee of ASB Capital (an institutional real estate investment firm). Ms. Owen previously served as a Board member for Columbia Equity Trust (formerly NYSE: COE).
Mr. Churchey was most recently Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Education Realty Trust, Inc. (“EDR”), which prior to its going-private transaction in September 2018, was a New York Stock Exchange-listed REIT focusing on collegiate housing communities. Mr. Churchey has nearly two decades of experience as an executive of publicly traded real estate companies including Great Wolf Resorts, Inc. (NASDAQ: WOLF), RFS Hotel Investors, Inc. (NYSE: RFS), and FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc. (NYSE: FCH). Mr. Churchey has also served on the board of trustees of Innkeepers USA Trust, a publicly-traded REIT (NYSE: KPA) and is currently the lead independent director and a member of the board of trustees of MedEquities Realty Trust (NYSE: MRT), a public healthcare real estate company.
“On behalf of the JCAP Board of Directors, I am pleased to welcome Becky and Randy to the Board. Both bring unique talents and experiences to our already strong group of independent directors,” said Dean Jernigan, Executive Chairman. “Becky’s 20 years of experience in real estate investing, with a significant amount of that experience being in development and construction, is a great fit given our evolving business model. Moreover, Randy’s public REIT experience both as an executive and board member, including overseeing over $1 billion of student housing development projects as CEO of EdR, will further enhance our access to exceptional ideas as we continue to strategically position the Company.”
“Both Becky and Randy are proven leaders and bring a wealth of strategic knowledge, which should make an immediate and meaningful impact on our Company,” added John Good, Chief Executive Officer, “We are confident that the experience, relationships and expertise in commercial and residential real estate of both these fine individuals will create additional opportunities for JCAP to create value for our shareholders.”
Mr. Churchey and Ms. Owen have been appointed to the Compensation Committee of the Board as well as the Nominating and Governance Committee of the Board.
About Randy Churchey
Randy Churchey, age 58, was most recently Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Board of Education Realty Trust, Inc., a publicly traded REIT focusing on collegiate housing communities, before the company was sold to Greystar in September 2018. Randy became president and chief executive officer of Education Realty Trust, Inc. in January 2010. He became chairman of the board in January 2015. He is currently the lead independent director and a member of the board of trustees of MedEquities Realty Trust (NYSE: MRT), a public healthcare real estate company. In 2008, Randy was interim chief executive officer of Great Wolf Resorts, Inc., a publicly-traded family entertainment company (NASDAQ: WOLF), and was a member of its board from 2005 until its sale in 2012. He was president and chief executive officer and a member of the board of directors of Golden Horizons, the nation’s second largest senior care company, from 2006 to 2007. From 2005 to 2007, Randy was a member of the board of directors of Education Realty Trust, Inc.. From 2004 until its sale in 2008, Randy served on the board of trustees of Innkeepers USA Trust, a publicly-traded real estate investment trust (NYSE: KPA). He served as president, chief operating officer and director of RFS Hotel Investors, Inc., a publicly-traded hotel real estate investment trust (NYSE: RFS), from 1999 until its sale in 2003. From 1997 to 1999, he was senior vice president and chief financial officer of FelCor Lodging Trust, Inc., a NYSE-listed hotel real estate investment trust (NYSE: FCH). Randy is a past-member of the Board of Governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts (“NAREIT”).
About Rebecca Owen
Rebecca Owen, age 56, currently serves as Senior Vice President of Clark Enterprises, a private investment firm with a diversified investment portfolio ranging from private equity to real estate. Ms. Owen is also President of CEI Realty, Inc., an affiliate of Clark Enterprises that manages the company’s real estate ventures, where she leads the CEI Realty, Inc. team and the real estate portfolio. Ms. Owen has been in senior leadership positions at Clark for over 20 years since joining Clark as General Counsel, and she currently serves on the Real Estate Investment Committee. Ms. Owen currently serves as a member of the Board of Carr Properties (a private REIT), as chair of the Real Estate Investment Advisory Committee of ASB Capital (an institutional real estate investment firm), a member of the Board of Horizons National, a Westport, Connecticut-based nonprofit focused on enhancing the life and learning skills of elementary and secondary school students from low-income families, and as a member of the Board of the Suburban Hospital Foundation and of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Washington, DC. Ms. Owen previously served as a Board member for Columbia Equity Trust (formerly NYSE: COE) and as an Advisory Committee member for multiple private equity funds. Ms. Owen previously practiced law at Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP. She received a JD from The University of Chicago Law School and a BA from Hamilton College.
About Jernigan Capital, Inc.
Jernigan Capital is a New York Stock Exchange-listed real estate investment trust (NYSE: JCAP) that provides debt and equity capital to private developers, owners and operators of self-storage facilities with a view to eventual outright ownership of facilities we finance. Our mission is to maximize shareholder value by accumulating a multi-billion-dollar investment portfolio consisting of the newest, most attractive and best located self-storage facilities in the United States through a talented and experienced team demonstrating the highest levels of integrity, dedication, excellence and community.
Forward-Looking Statements
This press release includes "forward-looking statements" within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995, including statements relating to our full-year 2018 guidance, our ability to successfully source, structure, negotiate and close investments in self-storage facilities, our ability to fund our outstanding future investment commitments, our ability to own and manage our real estate assets, the availability, terms and our rate of deployment of equity capital and our ability to increase the borrowing base of our credit facility. The ultimate occurrence of events and results referenced in these forward-looking statements is subject to known and unknown risks and uncertainties, many of which are beyond our control. These forward-looking statements are based upon the Company's present intentions and expectations, but the events and results referenced in these statements are not guaranteed to occur. Investors should not place undue reliance upon forward-looking statements. For a discussion of these and other risks facing our business, see the information under the heading “Risk Factors” in the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2017, and those set forth in the Company’s other reports and information filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”), which are accessible on the SEC’s website at www.sec.gov.
