Scott Urdang
About E. Scott Urdang
E. Scott Urdang (age 75) has served on GLPI’s Board since 2013 and is an independent director. He is the retired founder, CEO and Chairman of Urdang Capital Management (now CenterSquare Investment Management), which he built from 1987 to over $5 billion AUM by his 2012 retirement. He previously was a partner at Laventhol & Horwath leading real estate consulting, served as VP Finance at a regional developer, and taught Wharton undergraduate and graduate courses in economics, corporate finance, real estate finance, and investment analysis for 20 years . GLPI’s Nominating & Corporate Governance Committee classifies him as independent under Nasdaq and SEC rules .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Tenure | Committees/Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| CenterSquare Investment Management (formerly Urdang Capital Management) | Founder, CEO & Chairman | 1987–2012 | Built real estate investment manager to >$5B AUM by retirement |
| Laventhol & Horwath | Partner; Regional head of real estate consulting; national lead for pension consulting | 1984–1987 | Led national real estate consulting practice |
| Regional development company | Vice President of Finance | Not disclosed | Finance lead for subdivisions, office, multifamily, shopping centers |
| Wharton School (Univ. of Pennsylvania) | Professor (undergrad/grad courses) | 20 years (dates not disclosed) | Economics, corporate finance, real estate finance, investment analysis |
External Roles
- No other current public-company directorships disclosed for Urdang .
Board Governance
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Independence status | Independent director under Nasdaq/SEC rules |
| Committee memberships (2024) | Audit & Compliance Committee member; committee met 6 times in 2024 |
| Committee expertise | Audit Committee Financial Expert (with Lynton, Shanks) |
| Committee chairs | Audit Chair: Carol “Lili” Lynton; Compensation Chair: James B. Perry; Nominating Chair: Barry F. Schwartz (retiring June 12, 2025) |
| Lead Independent Director | Joseph W. Marshall, III; responsibilities span agendas, executive sessions, shareholder liaison |
| Board meetings & attendance | Board met 8 times in 2024; each director attended ≥75% of Board/committee meetings and attended the 2024 Annual Meeting |
| Related-party transactions | None reportable |
| Section 16(a) compliance | All required reports timely in 2024 except one late Form 4 for Carlino and Chase; no issues disclosed for Urdang |
Fixed Compensation (Director)
| Component | GLPI Program (2024) | Urdang Actual (2024) |
|---|---|---|
| Annual cash retainer | $130,000 | $155,000 (includes committee fees) |
| Committee member retainer | Audit: $20,000; Comp: $15,000; Nominating: $15,000 | Audit member (included in fees above) |
| Committee chair retainer | Audit Chair: $35,000; Comp Chair: $25,000; Nominating Chair: $22,500; Lead Independent Director: $25,000 | Not a chair |
| Meeting fees | Not disclosed/applicable | Not disclosed/applicable |
Notes:
- Fees indicate Urdang’s total cash of $155,000 for 2024 (likely $130,000 base + $20,000 audit + other minor items) .
Performance Compensation (Director)
| Equity Award Type | Annual Grant | Shares (#) | Fair Value ($) | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Restricted stock (service-based) | Annual director grant | 4,053 | 200,016 | Vests Dec 1 of grant year; valued at prior-day close; no unvested awards outstanding at 12/31/24 |
- GLPI grants service-based restricted stock to non-employee directors; no director performance-vested equity or cash metrics are disclosed (performance metrics apply to executives, not directors) .
Other Directorships & Interlocks
| Company | Role | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| None disclosed | — | No current public-company boards disclosed for Urdang |
Expertise & Qualifications
- Real estate investment, strategic planning, economics, finance, and M&A; audit committee financial expertise designation .
- Extensive REIT/gaming real estate experience aligned with GLPI’s net-lease business model .
Equity Ownership
| Holder | Total Beneficial Ownership (shares) | Components | Ownership Guidelines | Pledging/Hedging |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| E. Scott Urdang | 140,953 | 136,800 owned + 4,153 restricted stock | Directors must hold ≥5× annual cash retainer; all directors except Chase in compliance as of 12/31/24 | Pledged 20,000 shares as collateral (exception to anti-pledging policy allowed only in limited cases with Audit & Compliance Committee approval) |
Governance Assessment
- Strengths: Independent status; audit financial expert; strong attendance; service on Audit & Compliance Committee with cybersecurity and risk oversight mandates; no related-party transactions; director stock ownership guideline compliance .
- Compensation alignment: Mix is standard for REIT boards (cash retainer + service-based equity), promoting alignment via equity while avoiding performance-metric gaming at the director level .
- Shareholder sentiment: Say-on-pay support at 95% in 2024, signaling broad investor confidence in GLPI’s compensation governance (executive-level metric, but relevant to board oversight) .
- Red flags: Pledging of 20,000 shares by Urdang is a governance risk. GLPI’s policy prohibits pledging except under extremely limited, Audit Committee-approved circumstances; the pledge suggests an approved exception but remains a potential misalignment/forced selling risk in stress scenarios .
- Net takeaway: Urdang’s deep real estate finance expertise and audit committee role support board effectiveness; monitor pledged-share status and any updates to anti-pledging approvals to assess conflict/alignment risk over time .