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Howard Hughes Names Interim CEO as Paul Layne Steps Down

The Howard Hughes Corporation (HHC) has selected David O’Reilly, president and CFO, to be interim CEO. Paul Layne has retired as CEO after nine years, effective Sept. 17, and will also step down from the company’s board of directors.

Layne served as CEO throughout the execution of HHC’s transformation plan announced in 2019, which strategically focused the organization on its core master-planned communities, sold non-core assets and moved its headquarters from Dallas to Houston.

“Paul’s superb oversight of the development of The Woodlands and his strong stewardship during the pandemic have created and preserved tremendous value for our shareholders, positioning Howard Hughes for long-term success,” said Bill Ackman, chairman of HHC.

O’Reilly has served as CFO since 2016 and expanded his role to include the presidency in June of this year. HHC’s board will conduct a search for a permanent CEO. 

Pictured: HHC headquarters in The Woodlands, TX.

For comments, questions or concerns, please contact Paul Bubny

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About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 16-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 7-10 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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