We remember...
Our friend and mentor, Charles C. Townsend, Jr., who passed away on August 27, 2010.
Mr. Townsend, known to friends and colleagues as “Charlie,” was a Director of W. P. Carey from 1998 until 2008 and Director Emeritus until his passing. Prior to joining W. P. Carey's board, Charlie had successful career on Wall Street, as senior partner in the Corporate Finance Department at Morgan Stanley. He was recognized in the investment banking industry as an expert on the rendering of “fair evaluations” of companies in the context of mergers and acquisitions. Charlie opened Morgan Stanley’s Paris office in the mid 1970’s, the office that initiated Morgan Stanley’s European presence. In 1978, he retired from partnership at Morgan Stanley to farm and raise polled Hereford cattle at Raynham Farms, in Hopewell, NJ.
Mr. Townsend served on the boards of The Bunbury Company, W. P. Carey & Co., Collier Enterprises, The Evergreens, Stockton State College, Stony Brook-Millstone Watershed Association, Trinity Counseling Service, University Medical Center at Princeton, and The Windham Foundation.
Mr. Townsend attended Episcopal Academy, Overbrook, Pennsylvania, and graduated from The Pomfret School. He received his BSEE from Princeton University, summa cum laude, Class of 1949, where he was a member of the Ivy Club. He was a Baker Scholar at Harvard Business School, Class of 1956. He also served in the 82nd Airborne Division of the United States Army, stationed in Italy, and was honorably discharged in 1948.
Charlie loved the out-of-doors and was an avid fly-fisherman. He was a member of The Bedens Brook Club, Harvard Club of New York, Nassau Club, and the Pohoqualine Fishing Association.
Charlie was everything you wanted a leader to be: knowledgeable, expert, honest, ethical, fair, wise and the epitome of superb judgment. We shall miss him greatly.
