Kenneth J. Bacon joins Forest City Board of Directors

CLEVELAND, Dec. 5, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Forest City Enterprises, Inc. (NYSE: FCEA and FCEB) today announced that Kenneth J. Bacon, co-founder of RailField Partners and presiding director of the board for Comcast Corporation, has accepted an appointment to Forest City's board of directors, effective immediately. Bacon, 58, will stand for re-election at the company's next annual meeting of shareholders.

Bacon becomes the board's seventh independent director, achieving the company's previously announced goal of moving to a majority of independent directors as part of its ongoing commitment to good corporate governance practices.

"We are thrilled to have Kenneth on our board," said David J. LaRue, Forest City president and chief executive officer. "The combination of his experience in real estate and deep understanding of financial markets, together with exemplary governance qualifications, will make him a tremendous asset to Forest City and to the board."

Bacon began his career with Kidder Peabody and later Morgan Stanley, where his focus was mortgage finance and related products. In 1990, he joined Resolution Trust Corporation as director of policy for the Oversight Board, and was later named director of securitization, positions that allowed him to interact directly with the chairmen of the Federal Reserve and FDIC, among others.  

Three years later, Bacon joined the Federal National Mortgage Association (Fannie Mae) as senior vice president, northeast region. In 1998, he was tapped to lead Fannie Mae's American Communities Fund, directing community development investing, including equity, mezzanine debt, and loan participations. In 2000, he became senior vice president (with promotion in 2005 to executive vice president) of the organization's multifamily division. Under Bacon's leadership, Fannie Mae's multifamily division grew from approximately $56 billion in assets to a $190 billion mortgage portfolio, making it the largest U.S. multifamily creditor, with guarantees for one-fifth of all multifamily mortgages in the country. He retired from Fannie Mae in 2012, and recently co-founded RailField Partners, a financial advisory and asset management firm based in Washington, D.C.

A Comcast Corporation board member since 2002, and currently presiding director, Bacon serves on the Governance and Directors Nominating Committee.  He is also a member of the Executive Leadership Council and a director of the Corporation for Supportive Housing.

Bacon earned a bachelor's degree from Stanford University, where he received a prestigious Marshall Fellowship. He also has a master's degree in international relations from the London School of Economics and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

About Forest City
Forest City Enterprises, Inc. is an NYSE-listed national real estate company with $10.7 billion in total assets. The Company is principally engaged in the ownership, development, management and acquisition of commercial and residential real estate and land throughout the United States. For more information, visit http://www.forestcity.net.

SOURCE Forest City Enterprises, Inc.