The two top executives at Nareit, the trade organization representing real estate investment trusts, apologized to the group's members for comments by real estate magnate Sam Zell that they said demean and diminish women.
In a lunch panel at one of Nareit's annual conferences, Zell, chairman of Equity Group Investments Inc., was asked about the hiring of women job candidates, and he said he promotes employees based on ability rather than gender.
"Those things can get me in trouble, right?" Zell said. Nareit President and CEO Steven Wechsler, who was on the dais with Zell, replied, "If I said that, I'd be in more trouble."
Beyond his role at Equity Group, Zell is also chairman of Equity Residential, one of the largest public owners of apartments in the U.S.; of Equity Commonwealth, which owns office buildings; and of Equity LifeStyle Properties Inc., which owns manufactured home communities. Zell is also chairman of the boards of Anixter International Inc., which provides utility power solutions, among other things, and Covanta Holding Corp., which provides sustainable waste and energy solutions.
In a message in the trade organization's weekly newsletter, distributed to about 5,000 people, Wechsler and Nareit chairman Tom Baltimore apologized to conference attendees and others who heard of Zell's remarks, saying Zell "used a word ... that demeans and diminishes women." They said Zell contacted Wechsler, who was on the dais with Zell at the time of the remarks, to apologize and "express his regret to the Nareit community."
"Mr. Zell's language was completely unacceptable and is not welcome at Nareit-sponsored events (or, in our view, anywhere else)," Baltimore and Wechsler said in the statement. "Moreover, his language does not represent Nareit's values — nor does it represent the values of the women and men who work in the industry that we represent."
The pair said in the statement that the group "will make every effort in the future" to ensure that speakers at Nareit events "present relevant and useful insights in a fully appropriate manner."
In an email, a Nareit spokesman did not address a question about whether Zell, a frequent speaker at industry events, will appear publicly at further conferences.
An Equity Group spokesperson said the company has no comment on the matter.
Baltimore, who is serving as the organization's chairman for 2018 on a rotating basis, is chairman, president and CEO of Park Hotels & Resorts Inc.
