H. Michael Schwartz, CEO and chairman of SmartStop Asset Management LLC, a diversified self-storage real estate company, was recently named the winner of a Silver Stevie Award in the “Executive of the Year” category for real estate in the 14th Annual American Business Awards. The awards will be presented to the winners at a gala ceremony at the Marriott Marquis Hotel in New York on June 20.

"I am truly honored to have won this award and to be listed among the top business organizations and individuals in the United States," Schwartz said. "I couldn't have won this award without my executive team's expertise, loyalty and determination."

The award is nicknamed “Stevie” for the Greek word meaning "crowned.” More than 250 professionals worldwide participated in the judging process to select winners from this year’s 3,400 nominees. All U.S. organizations were eligible to submit nominations. The categories included “Startup of the Year,” “Marketing Campaign of the Year,” “Live Event of the Year” and others.

"The judges were extremely impressed with the quality of entries we received this year," said Michael Gallagher, president and founder of the Stevie Awards. "The competition was intense, and every organization that has won should be proud."

Last year, Schwartz and his team negotiated the sale of SmartStop Self Storage Inc., a fully integrated, self-administered and self-managed self-storage company that owned and operated 170 properties in 21 states and Toronto. The properties were sold for $1.4 billion to Extra Space Storage Inc., a self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) and third-party management company. The merger was the largest self-storage transaction in 10 years and the third largest of all time, according to a SmartStop release.

"Mr. Schwartz is definitely worthy of this top honor," one judge said. "His incredible business success story, from start to finish, is quite an accomplishment."

SmartStop Asset Management sponsors Strategic Storage Growth Trust Inc., a public, non-traded REIT focused on self-storage assets, and Strategic Storage Trust II Inc., a public, non-traded, self-storage REIT that’s the asset managers for 69 facilities in Toronto and the United States. Its portfolio includes 43,000 self-storage units and approximately 4.7 million rentable square feet of storage space.

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