NEWS RELEASE - FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Marty McKenna (312) 928-1901, mmckenna@eqr.com
June 30, 2025
Equity Residential Announces Executive Management Team Leadership Transition Plans
Bob Garechana to become Chief Investment Officer; Bret McLeod joins as Chief Financial Officer; Alec Brackenridge to Retire as Chief Investment Officer
Chicago, IL – June 30, 2025 - Equity Residential (NYSE: EQR) today announced changes to its executive management team.
Chief Investment Officer
Robert A. (“Bob”) Garechana, 46, currently the Company’s Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer (“CFO”), will assume the role of Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer (“CIO”). Alexander (“Alec”) Brackenridge, 61, currently Executive Vice President and CIO, will transition to Executive Vice President – Investments and retire at the end of 2025. Mr. Garechana joined Equity Residential in 2004 and has served as the Company’s CFO and a member of the Company’s executive and investment committees since September 2018. Mr. Brackenridge joined the Company in 1993 and has served as CIO since September 2020.
Chief Financial Officer
Bret D. McLeod, 42, will join the Company in July 2025 as Executive Vice President - Finance and assume the Chief Financial Officer role on August 7, 2025. Mr. McLeod currently serves as Executive Vice President and CFO of Great Wolf Resorts. He is a seasoned senior financial executive with extensive experience in corporate strategy, capital markets, operations and investor relations at both public and private companies. Prior to Great Wolf, he served as CFO for Citycon, a publicly listed owner of Nordic shopping centers. Before that, he spent nearly 15 years at Host Hotels & Resorts (NASDAQ: HST), serving in positions of increasing responsibility, most recently as Senior Vice President, Treasurer, Head of Strategy & Investor Relations. Mr. McLeod has a BSBA in Finance and Management from Georgetown University and an MBA from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management.
“This is an exciting transition for Equity Residential that builds on our Company’s history of thoughtful succession management. Bob has proven himself to be a talented and dynamic leader and we look forward to him continuing to advance our capital allocation strategy alongside the rest of our experienced investments team. We are also delighted to welcome Bret to Equity Residential. Bret brings a wealth of skills and experiences from outside the residential space to our Company and we look forward to him leading our finance team and advancing transformational initiatives across the Company,“ said Mark J. Parrell, Equity Residential’s