September 30, 2019 | Baltimore, MD — Alex. Brown Realty (“ABR”) has announced that, as part of a long-planned transition process, John M. Prugh has stepped down from his role as ABR’s President and CEO and become Chairman, and transitioned management responsibilities to Thomas R. Burton and Edward P. Nordberg.
Mr. Prugh has been with ABR for almost 44 years and has been the firm’s senior executive officer since 1984. Under his leadership, ABR-sponsored investment programs acquired more than 330 properties at a total cost of almost $4 billion. Mr. Prugh was responsible for expanding the firm’s client base from individual investors to include endowments, foundations, pension plans and other institutional investors. In a note to employees, Mr. Prugh commented that “Holding the interests of our clients to be paramount was our guiding principle and remains the framework for long-term success. Serving the firm has been my life-long privilege.”
In addition to his role at ABR, Mr. Prugh has held many leadership positions within the Baltimore community. Mr. Prugh will continue to serve as Chairman of the Board for the University of Maryland Baltimore Health Sciences Research Park (UMB BioPark), as a Member of the Board of Trustees of the Baltimore School for the Arts, and as Treasurer and a Member of the Board of Directors of WYPR (Baltimore’s NPR affiliate). Mr. Prugh has also served as a Member of the Advisory Board of the MSRE Program, Carey Business School at Johns Hopkins University.
Executive management responsibilities for ABR have been assumed by Thomas R. Burton and Edward P. Nordberg, Jr. Mr. Burton and Mr. Nordberg will serve as ABR’s Senior Managing Directors. “The firm has an experienced team in place, and I am confident that under Tom and Ed’s direction ABR will continue to deliver outstanding results for our investors,” said Mr. Prugh.
Mr. Burton joined ABR in 1992 and serves as the firm’s CIO. He oversees ABR’s investment programs and is additionally responsible for corporate operating matters. He was previously associated with USF&G and Ernst & Whinney. Mr. Burton is a Member of the Board of Directors of Adoptions Together and formerly Board Chairman. He previously served as an Adjunct Professor at the Colvin Institute of Real Estate Development, University of Maryland, and Georgetown University’s School of Continuing Studies. He is a CPA (inactive) and received an MBA from the Wharton School and a BS in Accounting from the University of Maryland.
Mr. Nordberg joined ABR in 2018. Most recently, Mr. Nordberg was the chair of Wakefield Capital which was focused on the healthcare real estate industry. He was previously associated with NorthStar Realty Finance, CFO then CEO of Medical Office Properties, Co-founder, CFO and Director of Healthcare Financial Partners, Inc. (NYSE: HCP), and a practicing attorney at Williams & Connelly. Mr. Nordberg is Trustee Emeritus and formerly Chairman of the Board of Trustees at Washington College, and also serves as Chairman of the Board of the U.S. Lacrosse Foundation. He received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center, an MBA from Loyola College, and a BA from Washington College. At ABR, Mr. Nordberg will be primarily responsible for capital market activity and strategic initiatives.
Alex. Brown Realty is an independent real estate investment manager specializing in value-add, opportunistic, and core-plus investments in the middle market. The firm was founded in 1972 by the partners of Alex. Brown & Sons, a Baltimore-based investment bank organized in 1800. Since the inception of the firm, ABR has acquired over $4 billion of assets, representing nearly 400 transactions. ABR has sponsored five real estate funds and is currently marketing its sixth fund. The firm is an SEC-registered investment advisor. www.abrealty.com
Forward-Looking Statements. This Press Release contains forward-looking statements that involve risks and uncertainties, including those relating to management transitions. ABR’s actual operations may differ significantly from the results discussed in such forward-looking statements. Such statements can be identified by the use of forward-looking terminology such as “may,” “will,” “could,” “should,” “would,” “expects,” “anticipates,” “intends,” “plans,” “estimates” or “continues” or similar terms, variations of such terms or the negative of those terms. There are a number of factors that could cause actual events to differ materially from those indicated by such forward-looking statements. You should not place reliance on these forward-looking statements. Although ABR believes that the expectations reflected in the forward-looking statements are reasonable, ABR cannot guarantee such outcomes.
