NEW YORK, NY, May 8, 2006 - W. P. Carey International LLC, an affiliate of investment firm W. P. Carey & Co. LLC (NYSE: WPC), today announced that its President, Edward V. LaPuma, received the ‘2006 Best of New York Award’ from the New York City College of Technology, a division of The City University of New York (CUNY).
The award was given to “distinguished individuals and organizations that play a significant role in the economic, educational, cultural and larger life of the local, national and global communities.” City Tech saluted Amalgamated Bank President & CEO, Derrick Cephas; W. P. Carey International President, Edward V. LaPuma; Deputy Permanent Representative & Ambassador of the Chinese Mission to the United Nations, Yishan Zhang; and alumna and founder of Annie’s Naturals, Annie Christopher '83. Proceeds from the annual dinner will help City Tech and the V.J. LaPuma Endowment Fund at the College to fund scholarships, other student financial assistance programs, and faculty development initiatives. The V.J. LaPuma Endowment Fund was created in memory of Ed’s father, who passed away in 2001.
City Tech and CUNY established The Best of New York Award in 1982 to support their efforts to meet their educational mission. This year, the awards ceremony celebrated a global theme - Around the Corner, Around the World - which reflected the scope of the educational experience City Tech offers its 12,400 degree program students and the professional impact its graduates have on business, industry and the professions, both regionally and worldwide.
Wm. Polk Carey, Chairman and CEO of W. P. Carey International LLC, said, “Ed first came to work for me in 1994 as Assistant to the Chairman and rose rapidly to become President of W. P. Carey International. For the past twelve years, it has truly been one of the great joys of my life to watch Ed grow and develop into such a thoughtful global business and community leader. I’m extremely proud of Ed and it’s fantastic to see him recognized as The Best of New York by such a great institution as The New York City College of Technology.”
Mr. LaPuma joined W. P. Carey & Co. as Assistant to the Chairman in July 1994 where he helped establish the firm’s Institutional Department. He joined the firm’s Investment Department in 1995 and was elected President of Carey Institutional Properties (CIP®) in May 2001 and President of CPA®:14 in 2005. Prior to joining W. P. Carey & Co., Mr. LaPuma was a consultant with the Sol C. Snider Entrepreneurial Center where he advised small business owners on ways to make their companies more profitable through the implementation of appropriate financial and management strategies. Mr. LaPuma also founded his own consulting firm, which specialized in providing strategy consultation services to industrial companies, which was later sold.
He serves as a Trustee of the Renssalearville Institute and of the W. P. Carey Foundation, as a governor of the Delta Phi Fraternity (“St. Elmo”) and as a Director of W. P. Carey International LLC. Mr. LaPuma earned two degrees from the University of Pennsylvania in 1994, both awarded magna cum laude, one in Finance from its Wharton School, the other in Global Economic Strategies from its College of Arts and Sciences. Mr. LaPuma manages all operations, investments and corporate strategies of the companies outside the United States. W. P. Carey International LLC currently operates out of New York and London.
W. P. CAREY & CO. LLC
Founded in 1973, W. P. Carey & Co. LLC is a leading global real estate investment firm. The Company provides asset management services to its CPA® series of income generating real estate funds. With $4.5 billion in equity capital, the W. P. Carey Group is one of the largest providers of net lease financing for corporations worldwide. The Group owns more than 675 commercial and industrial properties in 13 countries, representing over 95 million square feet, valued at more than $7.7 billion. www.wpcarey.com
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This press release contains forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Federal securities laws. A number of factors could cause the company’s actual results, performance or achievement to differ materially from those anticipated. Among those risks, trends and uncertainties are the general economic climate; the supply of and demand for office and industrial properties; interest rate levels; the availability of financing; and other risks associated with the acquisition and ownership of properties, including risks that the tenants will not pay rent, or that costs may be greater than anticipated. For further information on factors that could impact the company, reference is made to the company’s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission.
