Michael Fascitelli, the dynamic chief executive officer of Vornado Realty Trust, is stepping down to “take a break” from the company after four years atop the firm.
Chairman Steve Roth, who served as CEO for 20 years until Fascitelli took over in 2009, will step back into the chief executive role.
Both moves take effect on Apr. 16 and Roth said he expects the transition to happen “seamlessly.”
Fascitelli, 56, will remain on Vornado’s board, keep an office at the 888 Seventh Ave. headquarters and be available for “advice and counsel.”
The news rattled both the stock and the real estate world as the company owns more than 100 million square feet of offices and retail properties in the US and is one of the city’s largest office and retail owners.
“Vornado has been my consuming passion for the past 16 years,” said Fascitelli on a conference call yesterday, praising Roth as a “great partner.”
Obviously suffering a cold, Fascitelli also said, “I am a firm believer of not being afraid to try something new.”
The CEO left McKinsey in 1985 for Goldman Sachs and then joined Roth at Vornado in 1996. “Now is the right time to take a break and try something different,” he added.
Fascitelli, an avid athlete and sportsman, has led an adventurous life out of the office.
In 2006, he hurt his foot while playing basketball and was in a cast when, weeks later, he took a tumble while riding a snowmobile that ventured into a hidden ravine in Utah — breaking a bone in his wrist.
Last summer, Fascitelli suffered a serious shoulder injury and sources said he was almost killed in a horrific auto accident when the hired driver of a car he and his wife were riding in had a heart attack, hit a truck and flipped the vehicle, leaving Fascitelli and his wife Beth, who suffered a concussion, trapped for more than an hour.
He is leaving Vornado as one of its highest-paid executives — having earned $64.4 million in 2011.
Roth said Fascitelli worked “like an animal” and had executed 172 transactions on more than $17 billion worth of properties, all of which were fueled by 125 capital markets transactions totaling over $27 billion, making an “indelible impact on Vornado.”
In addition to its real estate holdings, Vornado has sizable investments in Toys ‘R’ Us and JCPenney — deals that have dogged the company, which yesterday reported a $224.9 million loss on Penney and a $40 million on Toys.
“Mike is one of the smartest and well-respected people in our industry,” said Jared Kushner, a partner with Vornado at 666 Fifth Ave.
“He is a great partner and a great friend,” he added. “And somebody for everyone in our industry to look up to.”
Mitchell Konsker, vice chairman of Jones Lang LaSalle, agreed, saying, “He’s one of the class acts of our industry, and truthfully, has the utmost respect of his peers.”
Possible successors include SL Green’s Marc Holliday and Andrew Mathias, as well as Vornado’s own execs, including David Greenbaum and Mitchell Schear.
CBRE’s local president and dealmaker, Mary Ann Tighe, and Cushman & Wakefield’s former CEO, Bruce Mosler, who now leads its global brokerage, were also mentioned as candidates.