ELS Names Waite CEO as Nader Exits After 13 Years
Company Background
Equity LifeStyle Properties is a self-administered, self-managed REIT headquartered in Chicago that owns or has an interest in 453 manufactured housing, RV, and marina properties spanning 173,623 sites in 35 states and British Columbia. The company carries an approximate market capitalization of $11.5 billion.
Financial performance through 2026 has been steady. Normalized Funds from Operations rose 4.6% year-over-year to $0.79 per share in the third quarter, while core manufactured housing base rental income — the backbone of the portfolio — grew 5.7% through the first nine months. The board raised the annual dividend 5.3% to $2.17 per share at the start of 2026, representing the company's 22nd consecutive annual dividend increase. Full-year 2026 Normalized FFO guidance, as last updated after the third quarter, stood at $3.15 to $3.21 per share.
What Was Disclosed
Marguerite Nader will cease to be Vice Chairman and Chief Executive Officer at the close of December 31, 2026, and will continue on the board in a newly created role of Executive Vice Chair beginning January 1, 2027. The board simultaneously appointed Patrick Waite, 60, as President and Chief Executive Officer and David Eldersveld, 52, as Executive Vice President, Chief Operating Officer, Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary, both effective January 1, 2027. Waite has served as President since April 2025 and as Chief Operating Officer since January 2015; Eldersveld has been with ELS since 2015 and has served as Chief Legal Officer and Corporate Secretary since February 2021. The board expanded from nine to ten directors and elected Waite to the new seat, also effective January 1, 2027. The board described the changes as part of the company's "multi-year succession plan" and stated that Nader's departure "is not the result of any disagreement with the Company on any matter relating to the Company's operations, policies, or practices."