People: Essex Property Trust Inc (ESS)

Mr. Claude J. Zinngrabe, Jr., is an Independent Director of Essex Property Trust Inc. He is co-founder and a Managing Partner of Fremont Realty Capital, the real estate merchant banking arm of the Fremont Group, a San Francisco-based, private-investment firm of the Bechtel family. The firm focuses on opportunistic and value-added real estate investments, both domestically and abroad. Prior to 1996, Mr. Zinngrabe was Chairman and CEO of Prudential Real Estate Investors, the institutional real estate investment arm of Prudential Financial, Inc. From 1992 to 1994, Mr. Zinngrabe served as President of Prudential Institutional Investors and was responsible for strategic planning in Latin America and Eastern Europe. Concurrently, he founded and held the title of Chairman and CEO of Prudential Homebuilding Investors, a real estate investment management firm specializing in homebuilding investments. From 1972 to 1992, Mr. Zinngrabe held a number of investment professional and management positions within Prudential’s mortgage lending, property investment and asset management businesses. Mr. Zinngrabe is a member of ULI where he has served as a trustee and Executive Committee member. He is also a member of the Pension Real Estate Association and the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers. Previously, Mr. Zinngrabe has served as a pro-bono ULI real estate advisor to the U.S. Department of Defense, National Institutes of Health and the Government of Bermuda. Mr. Zinngrabe received a Bachelor of Science Degree in History from Xavier University in 1968 followed by a Master of Arts in History in 1970 and Master of Business Administration degree in 1977 from Cleveland State University. Mr. Zinngrabe also completed the Advanced Management Program at Harvard Business School in 1989. Mr. Zinngrabe is a Governance Fellow of the National Association of Corporate Directors.