Financial Services >> CEO Interviews >> November 28, 2001
WILLARD G. ROUSE, III, is Chairman, Chief Executive Officer and
President of Liberty Property Trust, a leading real estate company
dedicated to creating environments that respect and enhance the lives of
the people who use them. Mr. Rouse has been a driving force in real
estate since the early 1970s when he founded Rouse & Associates and
subsequently grew it into one of the most influential real estate
operations in the country. Mr. Rouse graduated from the University of
Virginia in 1966, and soon after was hired by the Great Southwest
Corporation, a developer in Dallas. In 1968, he joined the Bernguil
Company where he oversaw the development of the Mid-Atlantic Park in
southern New Jersey, before forming Rouse & Associates in 1972. As
founding partner of Rouse & Associates, Mr. Rouse developed numerous
landmark properties. He is also one of the few US-based developers to
partner with a European government, in developing Kings Hill in southern
England, the largest mixed-use business park in Europe. Mr. Rouse's
civic accomplishments reflect his dedication to the city of
Philadelphia. As Chairman of the Pennsylvania Convention Center
Authority, he directed the development of Philadelphia's state-of-the-
art convention center, the largest public construction project ever in
Pennsylvania. As Chairman of We the People 2000, he orchestrated
Philadelphia's hugely successful Bicentennial Celebration, and has
served on the Board of the continuing organization, We the People 2000.
Mr. Rouse is currently Chairman of the $255 million Regional Performing
Arts Center. As such, he is responsible for the development of perhaps
the most ambitious project in the history of Philadelphia, a glittering
multi-use arts complex to be opened in 2001. Mr. Rouse has also received
honorary degrees from Spring Garden College, LaSalle University and the
University of the Arts. Profile
Liberty Property Trust?
Mr. Rouse: Liberty began as a company called Rouse & Associates, in
1972. The company was
