William Browning

Image
Jacqueline af Ugglas

Mr. Browning is one of our Class I directors and currently serves as the Chairperson of the audit committee and as a member of the compensation committee. Mr. Browning has dedicated his time to serving on boards of directors since January 2012. From 1999 to January 2012, Mr. Browning was a senior client service partner at Ernst & Young LLP, a global leader in assurance, tax, transaction and advisory services. From 2008 to 2012, Mr. Browning served as the managing partner for Ernst & Young LLP's Los Angeles office, which at the time of his departure was Ernst & Young LLP's second largest practice in the Americas and the largest public accounting firm in Los Angeles with over 1,200 professionals and over $400 million in annual revenues. Mr. Browning's extensive industry sector experience includes: real estate and REITs, financial services (commercial banks, asset management, consumer finance, credit card and mortgage companies), private equity, energy (upstream/downstream, refining and natural gas), engineering and construction, and technology. Before joining Ernst & Young LLP, Mr. Browning began his professional career with Arthur Andersen & Co. in 1976, where he was admitted to partnership in 1987 and named office managing partner of its Oklahoma office in 1994. At Arthur Andersen & Co. in Oklahoma and in Los Angeles, California, Mr. Browning served clients in a wide variety of industries and led the firm's domestic banking practice and regulatory compliance practice. Mr. Browning also serves on the board of directors of (i) McCarthy Holdings and (ii) Five Point Holdings, LLC, an owner and developer of mixed-use, master-planned communities. Mr. Browning was previously a director of (i) Parsley Energy, Inc. (NYSE), an independent oil and natural gas company that was acquired in 2021 by Pioneer Natural Resources Company (NYSE), (ii) Blackbrush Oil and Gas LP, an independent oil and gas exploration and development company that is also a portfolio company of a fund managed by an affiliate of our Manager and (iii) McCarthy Building Companies, Inc., one of the top 10 U.S. commercial builders and the oldest American Construction Company. Mr. Browning volunteers on the board of CARE, a non-profit organization focused on assisting young adults with chemical abuse issues. Mr. Browning holds a B.B.A. from the University of Oklahoma and was a certified public accountant in Oklahoma, California and Texas. Mr. Browning's experience in accounting and auditing, including in the real estate and REIT industries, provides the Board and, specifically, the audit committee, with valuable knowledge, insight and experience in such matters.