Steven Roth, the chief executive of Vornado Realty Trust, provided a morbid assurance to investors, saying that his firm will continue operating even if he meets a sudden end.
“As you would expect, our board has a robust succession plan if I get hit by a bus and has a robust succession plan when my time has come,” he said during an earnings call yesterday.
The 75-year-old Roth, who has been dodging questions about his firm’s succession plans, continues to withhold information on contingencies. Nonetheless, he said that Vornado “will not miss a beat” even if its senior executives pass away suddenly.
“When it’s appropriate to announce and to make the transition from me and Joe, I guess, (we) are the two most senior members of our management team, we will tell you then when it’s appropriate. But be assured that if either Joe or I get hit by a bus, this company will not miss a beat,” Roth said, referring to Joseph Macnow, who was named interim CFO after Stephen Theriot was assigned to JBG Companies earlier this week.
Roth was similarly elusive about his appointment to President Donald Trump’s infrastructure council. Last month, he and LeFrak Organization CEO Richard Lefrak were tapped to jointly head a “council of builders and engineers” that would oversee the president’s $1 trillion infrastructure plan. Roth, who described his role in Vornado as both his “day job” and his “night job,” said that the appointment will not weaken his focus on his firm.
“The time commitment to do this activity on behalf of the United States will not impair my ability to function as the Chief Executive Officer of Vornado. If I have to work a little harder, I surely will,” he said. “My role at Vornado is my day job. It’s my night job. It’s my passion. I’m honored that he (President Trump) has asked me together with Richard LeFrak to be an advisor to him and the administration with respect to infrastructure matters.”
He likened his role to that of a university board member, saying that he will serve on a work-when-needed basis.
“I’m an advisor. I’m not a line executive. I’m not in anyway an employee of the government. And so this is something that we do when asked. Just as we serve on hospital boards or university boards when asked. So that’s it,” he said.
Roth’s focus may come in handy as Vornado grapples with weak earnings. During the fourth quarter of 2016, the company’s profits dropped 9.8 percent to $214.74 million. Nonetheless, the company’s New York office portfolio finished the year at 96.3 percent occupancy.
