New leader for Grubb & Ellis.

Grubb & Ellis Company announced at a board meeting in New York that Wilbert F. Schwartz has been appointed president and chief executive officer of the company, effective immediately.

Schwartz, 51, replaces Alvin L. Swanson, Jr., who will assist in the transition as part of the Office of the Chairman for an interim period of time.

He is greatly respected by the new investors involved in the recent restructuring of the company and by Grubb & Ellis management, and we ate very excited about his ability to guide the company in the years to come.

Swanson, 59, was elected president and CEO by the board of directors in May 1992 to assist the board in its search for additional capital. The result of that search was a $57 million recapitalization of the company's debt and equity, of which $32 million is new equity investment. This restructuring was completed on Jan. 29, 1993.

Schwartz has been managing director of Prudential Investment Corp. since October 1991. He joined Prudential in 1976 as a regional manager for its subsidiary, PruLease. In the 17 years he spent at Prudential, Schwartz held operating leadership roles in four different business units, and served as the executive responsible for the strategic planning activities throughout Prudential. From March 1990 to October 1991 Schwartz was president and vice chairman of Prudential's Real Estate Affiliates subsidiary.

Prior to joining Prudential, Schwartz worked for IBM for 12 years, where he held various sales, marketing and management positions.

Schwartz holds a BBA in accounting and an MBA in marketing, both from the University of Cincinnati, College of Business Administration, in Cincinnati, Ohio. He holds a CLU designation from American University, and earned his CFA from the Institute of Chartered Financial Analysts. He is a member of the board of directors of Grubb & Ellis.