David Helfand
Chairman and Chief Executive Officer, Equity Commonwealth
David Helfand is the Chair, Chief Executive Officer and President of Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and operates commercial office properties throughout the United States. Mr. Helfand serves as an Advisor to Equity Group Investments (“EGI”), a private investment firm, where he previously served as Co-President, overseeing EGI’s real estate activities. Mr. Helfand is also the Founder and President of Helix Funds LLC (“Helix Funds”), a private real estate investment management company. He served as Chief Executive Officer for American Residential Communities LLC (“ARC”), a Helix Funds portfolio company. Before founding Helix Funds, Mr. Helfand served as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Equity Office Properties Trust (“EOP”), the largest REIT in the U.S. at the time, where he led approximately $12 billion of mergers and acquisitions activity. Prior to working with EOP, Mr. Helfand served as Managing Director and participated in the formation of Equity International, a private investment firm focused on real estate related companies outside the U.S. He was also the President and Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties (NYSE: ELS), an operator of manufactured home communities, and served as Chairman of the board’s audit committee.
He serves on the Board of Directors for the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago, on the Board of Trustees for Northwestern University, on the NAREIT Advisory Board of Governors, as Vice Chairman of the Executive Committee of the Samuel Zell and Robert Lurie Real Estate Center at the Wharton School of Business of the University of Pennsylvania, on the Kellogg Real Estate Advisory Council at Northwestern University, and on the Board of Visitors at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University. Mr. Helfand holds an M.B.A. from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business and a B.A. from Northwestern University.