JACKSONVILLE, FL-Locally based international forest products company Rayonier Inc. has added former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush to its board of directors. He will join a board led by Rayonier chairman, president and CEO Lee M. Thomas and lead director Paul Kirk, chairman, president and director of Kirk and Associates.

Bush is currently president of Jeb Bush and Associates, a consulting firm based on Miami's Brickell Avenue. He served as Florida's governor from 1999 to 2007 and as Secretary of Commerce from 1987 to 1988. Before holding public office, Bush partnered with real estate veteran Armando Codina as COO of Miami-based commercial real estate development corporation Codina Group.

"Jeb's management experience as governor of one of the country's largest states and his expertise in real estate and public policy issues make him an ideal fit for our board," Thomas stated in a press release. Rayonier owns, leases or manages 2.6 million acres of timberland, of which 70% is in the Southeast.

According to a spokesperson, Rayonier has not changed its real estate strategy through the downturn and plans to continue its strategy of acquiring, selling and cultivating timber on land. Through the third quarter, Rayonier has sold 36,000 acres of timberland, which is the normal course of business, says the spokesperson. This year, the company has acquired 110,000 acres in New York state and Washington state.

Rayonier is also involved in a number of strategic development projects that are in the process of entitlement, including a 6,300-acre site near the township of Palm Coast, halfway between Miami and Jacksonville. The company is partnering with Atlanta-based Cousins Properties Inc. on the project and is currently in the process of putting a land plan together for the site in Flagler County.

In a related note, Jeb Bush Jr. recently announced that he has joined his father's company in Miami, leaving his previous position as commercial sales and leasing agent for Coral Gables-based Fairchild Partners Commercial Real Estate Services. The younger Bush tells GlobeSt.com that he will help with consulting agreements at the small firm, which offers services to companies coming into the US or Florida, including those in the financial industries, real estate and health care.