MLA Places Ketan K. Patel as General Counsel at Forest City Realty Trust, Inc.

Hanover, MD (May 22, 2017) — Major, Lindsey & Africa (MLA), the world's leading legal search firm, today announced the placement of Ketan K. Patel as Executive Vice President, Secretary and General Counsel at Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. based in Cleveland, Ohio. The search was led by Paul S. Williams and Heather R. Fine of Major, Lindsey & Africa's In-House Practice Group in Chicago.

Forest City Realty Trust, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real estate company with $8.2 billion in consolidated assets. The company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate throughout the United States. As general counsel, Ketan will advise the company and board of directors on issues pertaining to corporate governance, REIT compliance, regulatory matters, policy, ethics and risk management, and will be responsible for leading and managing the seasoned legal team.

"This was a national search and generated considerable interest from candidates throughout the United States," said Paul Williams. "Ketan is a senior-level legal and business professional with significant experience handling complex financing, real estate and corporate transactions, making him an excellent fit with Forest City's core values and business needs," said Heather Fine.

Prior to joining Forest City, Ketan was Vice President, Corporate Secretary and Chief Ethics Officer at FirstEnergy Corp., a major Midwestern electric utility, where he served as a primary liaison to FirstEnergy's board and managed a team of 150 associates across the company's Real Estate & Facilities, Corporate, and Records & Information Compliance departments.

Previously, Ketan was Associate General Counsel at DDR Corp., a national real estate investment trust, based in Beachwood, Ohio, where he oversaw the Corporate & Transactions Group with responsibility for acquisitions and dispositions, capital markets transactions, joint ventures and tax, as well as other general corporate matters. He began his legal career with McDonald, Hopkins, Burke & Haber, LPA, a law firm with offices in the Midwest and Florida, and also spent several years at McKinsey & Company.

Ketan graduated from the University of Michigan Law School with a J.D., and from Princeton University with a B.S.E.