Cydney C. Donnell

Executive Professor 
Director of Innovation and Strategic Partnerships
Julio S. LaGuarta Professorship in Real Estate
Adam C. Sinn '00 Department of Finance

Biography

Ms. Donnell is the Director of  Innovation and Strategic Initiatives of the Adam C. Sinn ’00 Department of Finance of the Mays Business School of Texas A&M University. Ms. Donnell is an Executive Professor since August 2004 was a Visiting Lecturer from January 2004 to August 2004. Her other service to the Department including serving as Director of the Master of Real Estate Program and as Associate Department Head.

Formerly a principal and Managing Director of European Investors/E.I.I. Realty Securities, Inc. Ms. Donnell served in various capacities at EII and was Chair of the Investment Committee from 2002 to 2003, the Head of the Real Estate Securities Group and Portfolio Manager from 1992 to 2002 and Vice-President and Analyst from 1986 to 1992. Ms. Donnell served on the Board of European Investors Holding Company from 1992 to 2005. Prior to joining EII, she was a real estate lending officer at RepublicBanc Corporation in Dallas from 1983 to 1986.

Ms. Donnell  is currently a board member of a publicly traded REIT – Pebblebrook Hotel Trust and served on the Board of Directors of American Campus Communities the largest owner/developer of student housing in the U.S. She was its most recent Chair until its sale to Blackstone for $12.8BB. She also served on the Board of Madison Harbor Balanced Strategies Inc., a closed-end investment fund registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and . Ms. Donnell has served on the Board and is still a member of  the Institutional Advisory Committee of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts, or NAREIT. These roles provide her insights into current issues affecting the real estate industry.

As a current Board of Trustee of Trinity University, she is afforded the unique opportunity to assist in the strategic direction of a leading Higher Education institution. Currently she serves as Chairman of the Investment Committee and is a member of the operations Committee.

In 2007, Ms Donnell was appointed to the Employees Retirement System of Texas Board of Trustees by Governor Rick Perry, where she has served as Board Chair and Chair of the Audit Committee. She has also served in various leadership capacities for The Association of Former Students of Texas A&M University and the Junior League of the City of New York. She has received the NAREIT Industry Achievement Award and is a 2017 Outstanding Alumni of the Mays Business School.

Ms. Donnell received a B.B.A. from Texas A&M University and an M.B.A. from Southern Methodist University.

OTHER ACTIVITIES Lecturer at Industry Conferences and Educational Venues
Appearances on CNBC, Bloomberg News and Lifetime
QUOTED IN:
Wall Street Journal, Barron’s Business Week Fortune Dallas Morning News