Robert Denton Elected as Chairman of the Board of Trustees

Thomas Brady Resigned as Chairman, but Remains on the Board

COLUMBIA, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--COPT Defense Properties (NYSE: CDP) (“COPT Defense” or the “Company”) announced that its Board of Trustees elected Robert L. Denton, Sr. to serve as Chairman of the Board, effective January 1, 2024. Mr. Denton has served as an Independent Trustee of the Company since 1999 and is currently the Chairman of the Nominating and Corporate Governance Committee. Thomas F. Brady resigned as Chairman of the Board, effective December 31, 2023, but remains on the Board.

“I would like to thank Tom for serving as Chairman of the Board for over a decade,” stated Stephen E. Budorick, President and Chief Executive Officer of COPT Defense. “Tom’s contributions span virtually the Company’s entire history, from our early days focused on owning suburban office properties in the Mid-Atlantic region through our transformation into a specialized REIT focused on servicing the U.S. Government and defense contractors engaged in priority national security missions. Tom has always focused on the interests of our shareholders and his wisdom and guidance have proved invaluable to me and our entire Board.”

“I would like to congratulate Rob on his election to Chairman. Rob’s wealth of experience in real estate, finance, management consulting, and corporate strategy, makes him the ideal Trustee to lead our Board and provide sound and steady oversight and guidance in our capital allocation and financing decisions. While at The Shidler Group, Rob was a co-founder of several real estate firms, which became publicly listed REITs, including both our Company and First Industrial Realty Trust (NYSE: FR). Rob’s successful track record as a real estate investor in both public and private investment vehicles has always been rooted in enhancing shareholder value. Similar to Tom, Rob has been a vital member of our Board over the past 24 years and has been a wonderful mentor for me and our team. I look forward to working with him in his new role.”

Robert L. Denton, Sr., has been a Member of the Company’s Board since May 1999. Mr. Denton's background includes significant real estate and finance experience. Mr. Denton retired from The Shidler Group in 2013, where he had been a Managing Partner in New York since 1994 and was responsible for the implementation of the group's new investment vehicles in the finance, real estate and insurance sectors. Prior to that, Mr. Denton was a Co-Founder and Managing Director of Providence Capital, Inc., an investment banking firm. Mr. Denton served on the Board of Directors of Pacific Office Properties Trust, Inc. until January 2013.

Thomas F. Brady had been Chairman of the Company’s Board since May 2013 and has been a Member of the Board since January 2002. Mr. Brady has nearly 40 years of business experience working with both public and private companies and was the former Chairman of the Board of Directors of Baltimore Gas & Electric Company ("BGE") and Executive Vice President-Corporate Strategy at Constellation Energy Group ("CEG") (NYSE: CEG).

About COPT Defense

COPT Defense, an S&P MidCap 400 Company, is a self-managed REIT focused on owning, operating and developing properties in locations proximate to, or sometimes containing, key U.S. Government (“USG”) defense installations and missions (referred to as its Defense/IT Portfolio). The Company’s tenants include the USG and their defense contractors, who are primarily engaged in priority national security activities, and who generally require mission-critical and high security property enhancements. As of September 30, 2023, the Company’s Defense/IT Portfolio of 188 properties, including 24 owned through unconsolidated joint ventures, encompassed 21.3 million square feet and was 97.0% leased.

Forward-Looking Information

This press release may contain “forward-looking” statements, as defined in Section 27A of the Securities Act of 1933 and Section 21E of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, that are based on the Company’s current expectations, estimates and projections about future events and financial trends affecting the Company. Forward-looking statements can be identified by the use of words such as “may,” “will,” “should,” “could,” “believe,” “anticipate,” “expect,” “estimate,” “plan” or other comparable terminology. Forward-looking statements are inherently subject to risks and uncertainties, many of which the Company cannot predict with accuracy and some of which the Company might not even anticipate. Although the Company believes that the expectations, estimates and projections reflected in such forward-looking statements are based on reasonable assumptions at the time made, the Company can give no assurance that these expectations, estimates and projections will be achieved. Future events and actual results may differ materially from those discussed in the forward-looking statements and the Company undertakes no obligation to update or supplement any forward-looking statements.

The areas of risk that may affect these expectations, estimates and projections include, but are not limited to, those risks described in Item 1A of the Company’s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2022.

Source: COPT Defense Properties