Self-Storage REIT CubeSmart Announces CEO's Retirement, Second-Quarter 2012 Dividend

CubeSmart, a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT),  announced the retirement of CEO Dean Jernigan effective at the end of next year when his contract expires. The company also announced its second-quarter common shares dividend.

"The board of trustees thanks Dean for his service to our company over the last six years and for his commitment to ensuring an orderly CEO transition over the next 18 months," said William M. Diefenderfer, board chairman. "Under Dean's leadership, the company has dramatically improved the quality of its portfolio, technology and balance sheet and has built a scalable platform capable of producing solid future growth both internally and externally. It is indicative of his thoughtful and forward-looking approach to have put in place a seasoned and talented executive team and to provide an appropriate period of time to ensure a seamless transition of leadership."

As part of the changes in leadership, the board of trustees said Christopher Marr assumed the role of chief operating officer on May 30, adding to his duties as company president and chief investment officer.

"I am extremely pleased to have been able to mentor Chris over the past 18 years and help him develop into a highly effective and results-driven real estate executive," Jernigan said. "The addition of the COO title reflects his expanded scope of oversight to include the property operations, revenue management and marketing functions of our company. I look forward to working closely with Chris over the next 18 months to position CubeSmart for continuing long-term success."

The board announced a dividend of $0.08 per common share for the quarter ended June 30. The dividend is payable on July 16 to common shareholders of record on July 2. A quarterly dividend of $0.484375 for the 7.75 percent Series A Cumulative Redeemable Preferred Shares is payable on July 16 to holders of record on July 2.

CubeSmart owns or manages 481 self-storage facilities nationwide and operates the CubeSmart Network, which consists of approximately 825 additional facilities.