Mr. David A. Helfand / President, Equity Commonwealth

President and CEO, Equity Commonwealth

David Helfand serves as President and Chief Executive Officer of Equity Commonwealth (NYSE: EQC), a publicly traded real estate investment trust (REIT) that owns and manages commercial office properties in the United States. David is also a member of the company’s board of directors. As of June 30, 2019, Equity Commonwealth owns 7 properties totaling 2.5 million square feet and has $3.2 billion of cash.

David also serves as Co-President of Equity Group Investments, a private investment firm, since January 2012. Prior to rejoining Equity Group Investments, David was Founder and President of Helix Funds LLC, a private real estate investment management company, where he oversaw the acquisition, management and disposition of more than $2.2 billion of real estate assets. While at Helix Funds, he also served as Chief Executive Officer for American Residential Communities LLC, a Helix Funds portfolio company.

Before founding Helix, David served as Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer for Equity Office Properties Trust, the largest REIT in the U.S. at the time, where he led approximately $12 billion of mergers and acquisitions activity. Prior to Equity Office, David served as a Managing Director and participated in the formation of Equity International, a private investment firm focused on building real estate-related businesses in international emerging markets. He also held the role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Equity LifeStyle Properties, Inc., a manufactured home community and resort REIT, and served as Chairman of the board’s audit committee. His earlier career included investment activity in a variety of asset classes, including retail, office, parking, and multifamily.

David holds an MBA from the University of Chicago Graduate School of Business, and a BA from Northwestern University. David serves as a Director on the boards of the Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital of Chicago and The Ounce of Prevention, and as a Commissioner for the Chicago Park District. He is also on the Executive Committee of the Zell/Lurie Real Estate Center at The Wharton School, and the Board of Visitors at the Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences at Northwestern University.