1205: Giving Every Decision-Maker 40 Analysts | Matt Ostrower, CFO, Link Logistics

Matt Ostrower remembers losing sleep over a decision that carried consequences for employees, lenders, and shareholders.

At Site Centers, Ostrower tells us, the management team was confronting two challenges. Investor fears about the internet’s impact on retail real estate were depressing stock and bond valuations. Then Hurricane Maria struck Puerto Rico, leaving a portfolio of company assets out of commission for months.

The immediate pressure was to reopen properties and navigate the crisis. But Ostrower says the team forced itself to “pull back” and consider how the company could emerge positioned for growth.

Working with CEO David Lukes and capital markets leader Conor Fennerty, Ostrower says the team developed an answer that had not been executed repeatedly elsewhere: Separate the portfolio, create a liquid pool of assets for public-market investors, and establish a remaining company positioned for greater growth.

Because the approach was untested, Ostrower says the team had no certainty about how investors would respond. “I had sleepless nights for months,” he tells us, describing the market’s acceptance as an “existential question” for the company.

According to Ostrower, investors ultimately embraced the decision, and the strategy received positive press. He says it allowed the company to realize value in one place while setting up another company for growth.

For Ostrower, some of finance’s strongest strategic moments emerge during crises, when leaders are tempted to pursue whatever is most expedient. His experience suggests another possibility: Use the pressure to step back, ask harder questions, and make the decision that addresses not only the immediate disruption but also the company that must exist afterward.