Core Spaces Announces Lucero Castellanos as New CFO, Barry Howard to Move into Chief Sustainability Officer Role

Apr 14, 2021

CHICAGO, April 14, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Core Spaces, one of the nation's leading real estate developers, announced that current CFO Barry Howard is transitioning to a newly created role as the company's first Chief Sustainability Officer, effective April 5, 2021. He will focus on implementing an environmental, social, and governance strategy. The company has appointed Lucero Castellanos as the new Chief Financial Officer. Castellanos joined the firm in October 2020 to enhance the company's financial reporting capabilities, tax compliance program, accounting technology platforms, and overall accounting processes. Castellanos is now the first Latino woman to join Core's senior leadership team.

Before joining Core Spaces, Castellanos most recently led Global Logistics Properties accounting and financial reporting group through the largest private real estate transaction globally ($19 billion industrial real estate portfolio sold to Blackstone). Prior to that, she spent 12 years working in fast-paced environments for a mix of private and public real estate companies such as JLL and Equity LifeStyle Properties. Castellano started her career at Deloitte's real estate audit practice in Mexico City and transferred to the Chicago office in 2006 as part of a global development program. She has a bachelor's degree in Accounting and Finance from Laureates International Universities. Having excelled in developing, retaining, and leading global teams, Castellanos loves transforming processes and cross-functional collaboration. She wants to vocalize and continue working towards equality in corporate America. "I'm thrilled to join Core Spaces, especially at a time when diversity and inclusion are critical to our global corporate and societal well-being," Castellanos. "I look forward to joining Core's leadership team and leading its finance organization to contribute to Core's future success as the company progresses to the next phase of its strategy."

Barry Howard co-founded Core Spaces in 2010 and has helped lead the company and culture to become an industry leader. Howard has been integral to developing the company's strategic financial growth, has had a passion for sustainability - in 2015, he founded Herban Produce, a non-profit urban farm located in Chicago.

"Change is good when done right and at the appropriate time. Core's growth and scale will benefit from someone like Lucero, who has fresh eyes and institutional accounting shop experience," said Howard. "I was a great first CFO for Core, but I am excited to see where Lucero takes the role in this next phase of our business. Change also enables opportunities, and I am looking forward to putting structure and cohesiveness around our sustainability efforts – not only in the environmental sense but in the sustainability of attracting and retaining the best people."

Founder and CEO Marc Lifshin said, "This is monumental. Barry's leadership as CFO has been critical to Core's success. I am grateful for his accomplishments and look forward to his guidance on integrating sustainability into our corporate goals and how we do business. We're also looking forward to seeing the combined strength and expertise that Lucero possesses that makes us excited about the future – she has built trust and confidence and is truly a shining example of leadership."

About Core Spaces

Core Spaces is a vertically integrated company focused on acquiring, developing, and managing the best real estate in every market with the vision of creating a better life for everyone under our roofs. From world-class amenities and progressive design to client service with a hospitality-driven approach, Core provides living spaces and services that create a better daily life for its residents. Its projects are thoughtfully designed, customized, developed, and managed to create extraordinary lifestyle experiences that are as unique as their respective cities. Since its founding in 2010, Core has consistently delivered award-winning developments in top-tier university markets across the country. It currently owns and/or manages 32 properties nationwide – totaling more than 15,000 beds – and has a pipeline of over 32,000 beds in various stages of development. For more information, visit www.corespaces.com.

Media Contact:
Spencer MacDonald
(732) 300-6461

[email protected]

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