Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT Announces Leadership Change
Michael A. Bender recently informed the board of directors of Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT Inc. – a publicly registered non-traded real estate investment trust formerly known as KBS Strategic Opportunity REIT Inc. – that he will resign from his positions as executive vice president, chief financial officer, treasurer, and secretary of the company effective this week, specifically April 17.
According to the company, Bender’s resignation is to accept another, as yet undisclosed, position and not a result of any disagreement.
As previously reported by AltsWire, Bender was appointed chief financial officer of the commercial real estate-focused alternative investments programs sponsor, Pacific Oak LLC, in July 2019.
The board appointed Ryan Schluttenhofer as chief accounting officer, treasurer, and secretary of the REIT, also effective April 17.
Schluttenhofer, age 33, currently serves as the director of accounting and reporting for the company’s adviser, Pacific Oak Capital Advisors LLC, a position he has held since January 2022.
From July 2015 to January 2022, Schluttenhofer worked for PricewaterhouseCoopers, or PwC, in New York, where he held numerous positions, including as a deals manager – capital markets accounting and advisory services. In this position, he was responsible for delivering solutions for complex transformational deals that arise in connection with market disruptors and those navigating disruption.
Schluttenhofer graduated from California State University, Fullerton with a bachelor’s degree in business administration and is a certified public accountant.
Bender’s duties as principal financial officer will be assumed by the company’s president, Peter McMillan III. His duties as principal accounting officer will be assumed by Schluttenhofer.
AltsWire reported last month that via a loan agreement, Pacific Oak REIT had borrowed $8 million from Pacific Oak Capital Advisors. The loan matures next month and bears interest at a 12% annual rate.
The REIT owns nine office properties that comprise approximately 72% of its total assets. These properties encompass approximately 3.2 million rentable square feet and were 66% occupied at the close of the third quarter 2024.
Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT closed its initial public offering on Nov. 20, 2012. On Oct. 1, 2020, Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT II shareholders approved the merger into Pacific Oak Strategic Opportunity REIT. This REIT was designed to capitalize on the dislocation, lack of liquidity, and government intervention that exists in the commercial real estate markets by acquiring a diverse portfolio of opportunistic investments in discounted debt and distressed equity assets. The REIT seeks to provide stockholders attractive total returns through the purchase of non-performing loans at favorable prices and real estate from distressed sellers.
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