Raymond S. Lopez_Chief Financial Officer BBX Capital CorporationFORT LAUDERDALE, FL -- BBX Capital Corporation ("BBX Capital" and/or the "Company") (NYSE: BBX), today announced that its Board of Directors has approved the appointment of Raymond S. Lopez as Chief Financial Officer of the Company, effective on the first business day following the filing of the Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014. Mr. Lopez will succeed John K. Grelle, who will retire after serving as the Company's Chief Financial Officer since 2012. Mr. Grelle's pending retirement was anticipated by the employment agreement he entered into with the Company in November 2012.
Mr. Lopez, age 39, has served as Chief Accounting Officer of Bluegreen Corporation ("Bluegreen") since 2005 and as Senior Vice President of Bluegreen since 2007. Mr. Lopez joined Bluegreen as its Controller in 2004 and was promoted to Chief Accounting Officer and Vice President of Bluegreen in 2005 and to Senior Vice President of Bluegreen in 2007. Prior to joining Bluegreen, Mr. Lopez served as Manager of External Reporting for Office Depot, Inc. and as a Senior Auditor with Arthur Andersen LLP. Mr. Lopez is a Certified Public Accountant and holds a B.S. in Accounting.
"John has been a strong member of our management team for many years and we congratulate him and wish him well in his retirement," commented Alan B. Levan, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of BBX Capital. "Ray comes to us internally from a deep management bench within our organization, and we look forward to working with him in his new capacity."
On January 5, 2015, Mr. Lopez was also appointed Chief Financial Officer and Chief Accounting Officer of BFC Financial Corporation ("BFC"), effective on the first business day following the filing of BFC's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2014.
The Company owns a 46% equity interest in Woodbridge Holdings, LLC ("Woodbridge"), which owns 100% of Bluegreen. BFC, the Company's controlling shareholder, owns the remaining 54% equity interest in Woodbridge.
