Mr. Chao has served as a director since July 2010 and as lead independent director since November 2017. He retired in 2008 as Chief Executive Officer of Chelsea Property Group, Inc., a NYSE-listed shopping center REIT with operations in the United States, Asia and Mexico (now part of Simon Property Group, NYSE: SPG), previously serving as President and Chief Financial Officer. He has been a board member of London-based Value Retail PLC since 2009; and a co-founder and chairman of entities comprising Value Retail China, a privately-held owner/developer of retail properties, since 2012. From 2005 to 2008 he was an inaugural member of the board of Link REIT, the first publicly-listed and largest REIT in Hong Kong.

Earlier in his career, Mr. Chao was with Manufacturers Hanover Corporation (now part of JPMorgan Chase & Co.), ending in 1987 as a Vice President in the bank holding company treasury group. He received an MBA from Columbia University and an AB from Dartmouth College, where he is a member of the President’s Leadership Council and the advisory board of the Hopkins Center for the Arts. He is based in New York City.