Donna Garesché

About Donna Garesché

Donna D. Garesché is Executive Vice President and Chief Human Resources Officer (CHRO) at BXP, responsible for human capital strategy, including talent management, succession planning, performance management, and compensation systems. She joined BXP in 2010 and has served in progressive HR leadership roles; she is 59 years old as of May 20, 2025 and holds a BA from Saint Anselm College, an MA from Boston College, and an Executive & Organizational Coaching certification from Columbia University . Company performance context for incentive alignment: in 2024 BXP delivered diluted FFO/share of $7.12 vs. a $7.10 target, signed ~5.5M SF of total leasing vs. a 3.8M SF target, and grew revenue 4.1% to $3.4B .

Past Roles

Organization	Role	Years	Strategic impact
BXP	EVP, CHRO	Feb 2023–present	Leads human capital strategy; oversees leadership development, succession planning, compensation systems, and employee relations
BXP	SVP, CHRO	2020–Feb 2023	Elevated HR function; aligned talent and comp programs with business strategy
BXP	SVP, Human Resources	2016–2020	Expanded HR programs and performance management frameworks
BXP	VP, Human Resources	2010–2016	Built core HR capabilities post-joining; foundational systems/processes

External Roles

Organization	Role	Years	Strategic impact
AEW Capital Management	Vice President, Human Resources	Not disclosed	HR leadership for a major real estate investment manager; relevant to REIT talent markets
Beacon Properties	Director, Human Resources	Not disclosed	HR lead for a commercial real estate owner/operator; operational HR expertise

Fixed Compensation

BXP does not disclose individual compensation details for non-NEOs; Donna Garesché was not a 2024 named executive officer (NEO), so base salary, target bonus, and actual bonus are not itemized in the proxy .
Company program structure: executive compensation mixes base salary, annual cash incentives linked to pre-established goals, and long-term equity incentives; governance practices include capped incentives, clawback, no option repricing, and prohibitions on hedging/pledging .

Performance Compensation

Company-wide annual incentive plan (AIP) metrics used for NEOs provide directional insight into how performance goals are set; while Donna’s specific weightings/payouts are not disclosed, BXP reported the following 2024 AIP metrics:

Metric	Target	Actual	Notes
Diluted FFO per share ($)	7.10	7.12	Earnings component referenced in AIP
Short-term leasing (million SF)	3.1	3.1	Execution vs. target
Total leasing (million SF)	3.8	5.5	Outperformance vs. target

Long-term incentives: BXP utilizes LTIP units with performance components (e.g., relative TSR measures within MYLTIP) and time-based awards; equity grants are approved annually in late Jan/early Feb and time-based awards have double-trigger vesting features .

Equity Ownership & Alignment

Pledging/hedging: BXP prohibits hedging transactions, short sales, purchasing company securities on margin, and pledging company securities as collateral, reducing misalignment and forced-sale risks .
Clawback: BXP’s Compensation Recovery Policy requires recovery of erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation upon a material financial restatement (applies to covered executives on or after Oct 2, 2023), supplementing the prior clawback policy .
Stock ownership guidelines: Mandatory minimum equity ownership multiples are prescribed for certain titles (e.g., CEO 6x, President 5x, EVP CFO 3x, EVP Regional Manager 2x). The policy describes covered positions and timing to reach compliance; Donna’s specific multiple is not explicitly listed in the table and her compliance status is not disclosed .
Options: BXP has not granted stock options since 2013 and currently has no plans to grant options or option-like instruments; executive equity is delivered via restricted stock and LTIP units, aligning with long-term performance .

Employment Terms

Donna’s individual employment agreement and severance terms are not disclosed. BXP maintains severance frameworks for senior executives, including a Senior Executive Severance Plan and an Executive Severance Plan, each excluding change-in-control tax gross-ups for executives who became eligible after 2013 .
For NEOs (framework reference point, not specific to Garesché): severance economics include cash severance, prorated bonuses, continued health benefits, and vesting treatment for time-based and performance-based LTI awards across termination scenarios (e.g., without cause/for good reason, change-in-control, death/disability) . Retirement eligibility for LTI awards (“Rule of 70”) is defined for NEOs other than the CEO; applicability to non-NEO executives is not disclosed .

Investment Implications

Alignment: Strong governance (clawback; anti-hedging/pledging; equity-centric LTI; no option repricing) supports pay-for-performance alignment and mitigates insider selling pressure, even though Donna’s specific comp mix is not disclosed .
Retention risk: As an internal HR leader with long BXP tenure (since 2010), Garesché’s retention risk is moderated by institutional knowledge, while lack of disclosed individual severance terms suggests standard coverage under executive plans without shareholder-unfriendly gross-ups .
Trading signals: Absence of pledging and hedging allowances reduces potential forced selling signals; without Form 4 detail in the proxy, no insider trading pattern assessment can be made from these documents .
Execution risk: Workforce stability (average officer tenure 18.4 years; voluntary turnover 10.8%) and 2024 operational outperformance provide favorable backdrop for HR-led initiatives on talent and productivity; these are supportive but not individually attributable to Donna’s compensation outcomes .

Note: Many executive-specific compensation and ownership details (base salary, target bonus %, grant sizes, vesting schedules with specific dates, options, individual employment agreement, and compliance with ownership guidelines) are not disclosed for non-NEOs in the 2025 proxy. Analysis above relies on company-wide policies and NEO frameworks to assess alignment and risk relevant to the CHRO role. All facts are sourced from BXP’s 2025 DEF 14A and related filings.

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