Public Storage appoints independent trustees in cooperation with Elliott

Public Storage said it added two independent trustees to its board and named a new lead independent trustee following engagement with its shareholders, including funds advised by Elliott Management Corp.

The self-storage real estate investment trust appointed Michelle Millstone-Shroff and Rebecca Owen to its board of trustees and named David Neithercut as lead independent trustee following the retirement of lead independent trustee Gary Pruitt.

Millstone-Shroff was formerly chief customer experience officer at Bed Bath & Beyond and president and COO for buybuy BABY. Owen most recently served in various roles at Clark Enterprises Inc. and its affiliated companies.

The company added that it established an advisory long-term planning committee of its board of trustees, which will focus on long-term planning, strategy and growth.

Joe Russell, president and CEO of Public Storage, will chair the committee, which will also include Leslie Heisz, Millstone-Shroff, Shankh Mitra, Neithercut and Owen.

The REIT said it entered into a cooperation agreement with Elliott Management. The shareholder has withdrawn its nominees to the board and will be supporting the board's trustee nominees at the company's annual meeting of shareholders. The two parties also entered into an information sharing agreement to facilitate dialogue in preparation for the company's investor day, to be held May 3.

Goldman Sachs & Co. LLC is financial adviser to Public Storage, and Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz is legal counsel.