Ron Griffith, the longtime president, CEO, and general counsel of Century Housing, will be retiring from the organization, effective Sept. 2.
Part of Century Housing since 1998, he has held the top post since 2007. Prior to that, he served as senior vice president.
“A simple email cannot convey the enormous sense of pride I have for what Century has accomplished over these past years financing and creating safe and dignified apartment homes for tens of thousands of our most vulnerable community residents,” Griffith wrote in an exit announcement to staff. “I look forward to Century’s continued success in the future.”
A Community Development Financial Institution, Century Housing is a group of nonprofit affiliates that finances, develops, and operates affordable housing throughout California. Since its origins as a state agency, it has invested more than $2.8 billion in housing; developed nearly 2,300 Century-owned affordable homes; and served and housed nearly 3,600 people in its properties.
During Griffith’s tenure, the company experienced rapid growth, expanding its lending activities across California, financing the creation and preservation of more than 58,000 affordable and workforce homes, and achieving “AA” issuer credit ratings from S&P Global Ratings and Fitch Ratings.
The organization’s flagship supportive housing community is Century Villages at Cabrillo, a 27-acre campus in Long Beach with more than 1,500 residents on any given night. Century Affordable Development also advanced the group’s mission by leading and managing key real estate projects, including master-planned supportive housing communities at the West Los Angeles VA North Campus and Rancho San Pedro in the South Bay, and other affordable housing properties across greater Los Angeles.
Daniel Lopez, a founding Century Board member, has been named interim president and CEO. He has chaired Century Housing’s loan committee for most of its history.
Century Housing’s board of directors will conduct a national search for a new leader. Officials said it will also engage best-in-class law firms for corporate- and real estate-related legal matters until a new in-house general counsel is hired.
