Regency Centers finds successor general counsel

Jacksonville, Florida-based real estate investment trust Regency Centers Corporation has recruited Michael Herman as its next general counsel.

He will join the company on April 6 as senior vice president and general counsel, then succeed Barbara Johnston on May 1 when she retires.

Herman is moving to Regency from Rayonier Advanced Materials, where he has been general counsel since 2003, adding the role of corporate secretary in 2014. From 1997 to 2003, he was senior vice president and general counsel of GenTek and its predecessor company General Chemical Corporation, where he started work in 1992.

Johnston became Regency’s first general counsel in 2010. During her time with the company, she has advised senior management on legal rights, obligations and risks for all corporate transactions and in regard to other company matters and general corporate compliance.

According to the company, she also helped Regency reach several achievements such as assisting the board and senior management ‘in consistently achieving the highest ISS overall corporate governance score.’ Johnston helped create the company’s legal department and advised on major corporate transactions such as Regency’s merger with Equity One in 2017.

Before joining Regency, she was a partner at law firm McGuireWoods, with a practice focusing on M&A, divestitures and general corporate law matters.

‘On behalf of the board of directors and the entire Regency team, I’d like to thank Barbara for her many contributions to our success,’ says Lisa Palmer, president and CEO, in a statement. ‘Barbara’s leadership and trusted, wise counsel has strongly benefited Regency for the last decade. We will miss her and wish her all the best in her retirement. At the same time, we are very pleased to welcome Michael Herman to our Regency family.’

Regency Centers bills itself as ‘the pre-eminent national owner, operator and developer of shopping centers located in affluent and densely populated trade areas.’