Geoffrey Jervis will step down as CFO and COO of diversified real estate investment trust iStar Inc. and ground-lease REIT Safety Income & Growth Inc., effective March 31, to explore other opportunities.

The companies appointed Andrew Richardson interim CFO. Richardson, who previously was an executive vice president and head of capital markets at iStar, will also serve as the company's president of land portfolio.

IStar noted that Jervis will remain with the company as an adviser during the transition.

Richardson most recently was CFO of real estate developer Howard Hughes Corp. IStar is the manager of Safety Income & Growth.