Armada Hoffler’s next CEO to assume role Jan. 1

Shawn Tibbetts, Armada Hoffler Properties’ president, chief operating officer and CEO designate, will become CEO on Jan. 1, 2025, earlier than previously announced.

The Virginia Beach-based real estate investment trust announced in February that it expected to name Tibbetts as CEO in spring 2025, upon current CEO Louis Haddad’s retirement from the position. At that time, Armada Hoffler also added the role of president to Tibbetts’ COO position.

On Monday, though, the REIT announced Tibbetts will assume the role at the beginning of the new year. Armada Hoffler’s board of directors also expects to appoint him to the board when he becomes CEO.

“We’ve been working on this for quite some time, and we became comfortable, and the board became comfortable, with the fact that we had completed the task ahead of schedule or in enough time and accomplished the primary goals of the succession plan to allow this to happen at the beginning of the year,” Tibbetts told Virginia Business in an interview Tuesday.

“The truth is,” he added, “it’s a much cleaner break. It’s easier for us to kind of hit that inflection point and take off … in concert with our fiscal year, which starts on Jan. 1.”

Armada Hoffler might not name a new COO to succeed Tibbetts, he said, and is currently reviewing its organizational design.

Haddad will remain executive chairman of the board upon his retirement from the CEO role. He succeeded Armada founder Daniel Hoffler as executive chairman, and Hoffler now serves as executive chairman emeritus.

“This exciting step represents the continuation of a seamless transition plan that was the product of significant planning and forethought,” Eva Teig Hardy, lead independent director of the company’s board of directors, said in a statement.

Tibbetts joined Armada as COO in 2019 after serving as president and COO of the Port of Virginia, where he spent nine years. Since joining Hoffler, Tibbetts has grown the company’s portfolio net operating income by 45% and overseen the execution of $1.2 billion of transactions.

Tibbetts holds an undergraduate degree from James Madison University and an MBA from William & Mary and completed Harvard Business School’s Advanced Management Program. Tibbetts is a member of the Virginia Chamber of Commerce’s board of directors.

Under Haddad’s 25-year tenure as CEO, Armada completed its initial public offering and began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in 2013. Haddad oversaw the company’s completion of Virginia Beach’s Town Center, part of a public-private partnership, and under his leadership, Armada’s portfolio grew to span eight states, with an enterprise value of $2.6 billion.

“I am proud of everything we have collectively accomplished throughout my 40-year career with this incredible company,” Haddad said in a statement. “I am confident that Shawn, who is an exceptional leader, will guide Armada Hoffler to amazing accomplishments in the years ahead.”

As he assumes leadership of the company, Tibbetts said he is excited to work with Armada Hoffler’s talent and its platform, building on Hoffler and Haddad’s work to continue growing the company.

“We have a company that’s now 45 years old, almost 46 years old,” Tibbetts said. “We’ve been public since 2013, and it’s been a heck of a ride to this point, and looking forward to this next chapter, [we’re] kind of adjusting the dials a little bit and leveraging our DNA to create the next chapter of this story — the quality story, as I’m calling it. Quality of our balance sheet, quality of our income stream and becoming a little more intentional and focused with our actions in the public market.”

Founded in 1979, Armada Hoffler operates in eight mid-Atlantic states. As of this summer, it had 6.2 million rental square feet in its portfolio and an estimated $630.5 million of projects in its development pipeline. The REIT has over 160 employees.