Richard A. Baker is an experienced executive and established visionary with a reputation for capitalizing on opportunities that lie at the intersection of retail and real estate. Mr. Baker currently serves as Governor, Executive Chairman and CEO of HBC, L.P., a holding and investment company of distinct North American retail and real estate operating businesses, including Hudson’s Bay, Saks Fifth Avenue, Saks OFF 5TH and HBC Properties & Investments. He is also the Executive Chairman for each of HBC’s operating companies.
Mr. Baker is an owner of National Realty & Development Corporation (NRDC), one of the largest real estate development companies in the United States. In addition, he serves as the Chairman of the Board of Directors for Retail Opportunity Investments Corporation (ROIC), a NASDAQ-listed REIT focused on acquiring retail properties on the west coast of the United States.
At HBC, he has been instrumental in leading the company’s long-term growth strategy, including successfully taking the company private in March 2020. Mr. Baker also has a strong track record of completing value-enhancing transactions that have transformed HBC over the last decade, including the sale of the Lord + Taylor Fifth Avenue building and the company’s German real estate and retail assets.
Mr. Baker is on the Board of Trustees at Cornell University and has served or is currently serving on several of the University’s councils and boards, including the Baker Program in Real Estate Advisory Board, School of Hotel Administration Advisory Council, Center for Real Estate and Finance Advisory Board and Center for Real Estate and Finance Industry Fellows. Mr. Baker received his B.S. in Hotel Management from Cornell University in 1988.