Irvine Co. makes it official: McKee’s No. 2 in charge

Mathis Winkler

NEWPORT BEACH -- Mike McKee, until now the Irvine Co.’s vice chairman

and chief financial officer, will only have to change one word on his

business card after the privately held company’s board of directors voted

to make him chief operating officer.

The switch, announced by company officials Tuesday, formalizes McKee’s

position as the company’s No. 2 guy behind Donald Bren, who owns and

chairs the company. It also completes a make-over of the company’s

command structure, with each major divisional head now reporting to Bren

and McKee, who form the company’s operations committee.

“Mike’s appointment recognizes the expanded role he has had in the

business of the company beyond his recent responsibilities,” Bren said in

a prepared statement. “He has been an increasingly important voice in

virtually every major issue affecting our company.”

McKee, 55, said Tuesday that his new title merely reflects a change in

his duties over the past year.

“I’ve been more and more involved in operations,” he said. “Now the

title captures that.”

McKee’s promotion coincides with the retirement of Richard Sim, the

company’s Investment Property Group chairman, who was also a member of

the company’s operations committee. But McKee said the two events were

not directly related, although he added that he will be taking on some of

Sim’s responsibilities from now on.

The change is not the first time McKee has replaced a word between the

“chief” and the “officer.” In 1994, he started as the company’s chief

legal officer before taking over as chief financial officer in 1996 and

vice chairman in 1999. During this period, he oversaw the company’s

financial and tax affairs, human resources, information technology and

legal affairs. He also chairs the company’s strategic planning committee.

Before joining the company, McKee was the managing partner of the

Orange County office of Latham & Watkins, an international law firm. He

specialized in corporate finance matters, with special emphasis on

investment banking and public company representation. In that position,

he represented the Irvine Co. on several occasions, including the

company’s sale of Community Cablevision to Times Mirror Corp. In 1993, he

also participated in the public offering of Irvine Apartment Communities,

an Irvine Co. subsidiary. In 1999, the company took Irvine Apartment

Communities private again.

From 1979 to 1984, McKee provided legal counsel to the Los Angeles

Olympic Organizing Committee regarding sponsorship, merchandise and venue

matters.

McKee is a member of the company’s board of directors, as well as a

board member of the Donald Bren Foundation, Hoag Hospital Foundation,

Mandalay Resorts Group, Health Care Property Investors and the Lusk

Center for Real Estate at USC.

McKee lives with wife Cindy in Laguna Beach. The couple has two grown

children and one grandchild.