Real estate investment trust Boston Properties (BXP) late Sunday said its Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer Edward Linde passed away due to complications from pneumonia. Mortimer Zuckerman, Co-Founder and Chairman of the Board, has assumed the duties of Chief Executive Officer, the Boston, Massachusetts-based firm added.
Linde, 67, along with Zuckerman, founded the company in 1970 in Boston with just two employees other than the two partners. It went public in June 1997 and is currently one of the largest owners, managers, and developers of first-class office properties in the U.S. The company now has presence in four core markets: Boston, Washington, D.C., Midtown Manhattan and San Francisco. Linde, who has been the company's CEO for 37 years, has been a director of the company since 1997. He was the real estate investment trust's President until May 2007, when his son Douglas Linde assumed that post, the company website said.
Prior to forming Boston Properties, Linde spent five years at Cabot, Cabot & Forbes, where he became Vice President and Senior Project Manager. Linde was also Chairman of the Board of Trustees of the Boston Symphony Orchestra and a director of Jobs for Massachusetts, WGBH and Boston World Partnership. He is a past Chairman of the Board of the Beth Israel Hospital.
Mort Zuckerman said today, "Earlier today we all lost a dear friend and great colleague. Ed and I started Boston Properties over 40 years ago. We spoke almost every day and found the opportunity to laugh at both the ups and downs of the real estate business. He will be greatly missed by all of us at the company and our hearts and prayers go out to his family."
BXP closed Friday's regular trade at $67.85, down $0.89 or 1.29%, on 1.02 million shares.
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