Self-storage real estate investment trust (REIT) Life Storage Inc. has hired a new employee and promoted another. Leela Mookerjee was named vice president of corporate counsel, while Christopher Vandrei was promoted to director of network services.

Mookerjee has more than 20 years of legal-counsel experience on matters such as federal and international taxation, mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures, real estate transactions, REITs, corporate governance, and more, according to a source. She previously worked as a director at PricewaterhouseCoopers and in counsel positions at General Electric and GE Capital, according to her LinkedIn page. Before that, she spent more than seven years as vice president at NBC Universal Inc. She received her bachelor’s degree in political science and French at University of Rochester, and studied law at the State University of New York at Buffalo. She received her Master of Laws from Georgetown University Law Center.

Vandrei joined the company as a technical-support analyst and has served as an infrastructure manager since 2011. Prior to that, he was a network-support analyst and administrator, a source reported.

Based in Buffalo, N.Y., Life Storage operates more than 750 self-storage facilities in 28 states and Ontario, Canada. Its portfolio of owned and managed facilities comprises more than 55 million square feet.

Sources:
The Buffalo News, Leela Mookerjee Promoted at Life Storage
The Buffalo News, Christopher Vandrei Promoted at Life Storage
LinkedIn, Leela Mookerjee