LAURA CLARK
CFO
Rexford Industrial
Under Laura Clark’s financial stewardship, Rexford Industrial is valued at approximately $15 billion today. With Southern California being the fourth largest industrial real estate market in the world behind the United States, China and Japan, Clark and Rexford Industrial are 100% focused on the SoCal market and have experienced significant growth. The form bought $2.4 billion of industrial real estate in Southern California last year alone (52 transactions).
The business of Rexford Industrial requires a significant amount of capital funding. In recent times, capital markets shifted significantly and funding dried up for many. However, Rexford has had tremendous access to debt and equity because Clark has kept the lowest leveraged balance sheet in the entire REIT sector – with a debt-to-market cap that is less than 15%.
Clark’s strategy has always been to maintain low leverage. This allows the form to be opportunistic and positions it to preserve and grow the organization as a whole. With Clark’s financial know-how, the firm grew earnings in 2022 (EPS 20%); and over the last five years have grown earnings 15% per year on average while industry peers grew at 10%. Year to date she and the team have acquired $855 million worth of real estate. Plus the firm recently issued public bonds to the public bond market – something very few companies are able to do. Thanks in large part to Clark, the firm’s balance sheet, execution and results have allowed it to have unique access to the market.
