LOS ANGELES, Sept. 10, 2021 -- Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT, Inc. announced today that the board has elected Laurent Degryse to serve as an independent director on the board, effective September 2, 2021.
Mr. Degryse is filling a vacancy on the board as a result of the resignation of Eric Smith, a member of the company's board of directors since 2009. Smith notified the company that he was resigning from the board effective as of September 1, 2021.
With these changes, the board remains comprised of five directors, three of whom are independent. Degryse has also been appointed to the board's conflicts committee and its audit committee.
Mr. Degryse previously served as an independent director of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT II, Inc., and brings over 20 years of real estate development industry experience to the board. For the past six years he has been self-employed and engaged in real estate development and private equity activities as a partner at American Discovery Capital.
Mr. Degryse founded Urbis Development, a real estate development company located in Luxembourg, and served as its managing director until it created a joint venture with another real estate company, Herpain SA, and became Herpain Urbis. He went on to hold director roles with various Herpain Urbis companies that were involved with real estate development and construction for office, residential and commercial real estate in Belgium. He also manages his own portfolio of investments in Europe, Asia and the United States.
"We are pleased to welcome Laurent to the board of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT," said Peter McMillan, chairman of the board and president of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT. "Mr. Degryse's professional and personal experience on owning and managing real estate in Belgium offers insights and perspective with respect to our investment portfolio and our focus on European investment opportunities."
"On behalf of the board and the company's management team, I want to express our sincere thanks to Eric for his invaluable leadership and the tremendous contributions he made during his years of service," continued McMillan.
About Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT
Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT, Inc. is a public, non-traded corporation headquartered in Los Angeles, California, that has elected to be taxed and currently qualifies as real estate investment trust. The REIT invests in opportunistic real estate and other real estate-related investments and manages a portfolio valued in excess of $2 billion1 comprised primarily of office, apartment, single-family rental and hotel assets.
1 Reflects the December 2020 net asset value ("NAV") for real estate and investments in unconsolidated joint ventures, adjusted for subsequent acquisitions and dispositions, plus the June 30, 2021 value for equity securities, for investments in the portfolio as of June 30, 2021. Value has been adjusted for the company's share of consolidated and unconsolidated joint ventures. For more information, see the Company's Current Report on Form 8-K filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (the "SEC") on December 10, 2020.
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