Thomas J. Andrews

Thomas Andrews has stepped down as leader of Alexandria Real Estate Equities’ Greater Boston operations, and the life science developer named a former MIT Investment Management Co. executive as his successor.

Hunter Kass, who joined Alexandria in 2018 as a vice president, will succeed Andrews as regional market leader, Alexandria announced Monday.

Andrews stepped down due to for “personal reasons,” according to an SEC filing, but will remain with the company in an unspecified role to assist in the transition. In December, he was announced as the president of the board management committee at commercial developers’ group NAIOP Massachusetts.

Andrews oversaw life science development for the Worcester Business Development Corp. for 11 years and joined Alexandria in 1999, as Kendall Square was emerging as a life science cluster. Alexandria became a major player in East Cambridge with its 2006 acquisition of the Tech Square campus from MIT.

Over two decades, Andrews led the growth of Alexandria’s vast office-laboratory portfolio in Kendall Square and the suburbs, and its entry into the growing Watertown and South Boston life science clusters.  The company now owns 7.3 million square feet of office and lab space in Greater Boston, collecting $454 million in lease payments from tenants which account for 36 percent of the company’s annual rental revenues.

Editor’s note: This report has been updated to clarify that Andrews will remain with Alexandria to assist with transitional matters.