ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--
Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) announced today that Dan
DuPree, 62, has been named Vice Chairman of the Company. Since 2007, Dan
has been serving as Cousins' President and Chief Operating Officer. In
his new role, DuPree will focus on a variety of key initiatives,
including developing joint ventures, identifying distressed acquisition
and development opportunities, and insuring the performance of Cousins'
recently developed retail portfolio.
The Company also announced today that Larry Gellerstedt, 52, has been
named President and Chief Operating Officer, where he will bring to bear
his 30 plus years of management experience in the construction, real
estate, and investment fields. Gellerstedt joined Cousins Properties
following the acquisition of his firm, The Gellerstedt Group, in June
2005, and most recently has served as Executive Vice President and Chief
Development Officer for the Company.
"For more than 16 years now, Dan has made and continues to make an
immeasurable contribution to Cousins. We wouldn't be the company we are
today without him," said Tom Bell, Chairman and CEO of Cousins. "This
shift to Vice Chairman will allow him to focus even more of his
considerable talents on some of our most pressing challenges and
promising opportunities."
"Every successful enterprise has to focus on sustaining the
organization's success from one generation to the next. Promoting Larry
to President and COO will help provide the Company with great leadership
well into the future. He has deep experience managing large
organizations and over his career, he has also shown an appreciation for
the entrepreneurial drive needed in a company like Cousins," Bell said.
"Larry is a great fit for Cousins and I'm sure he will be a great
success in his new role."
In 1984, DuPree founded New Market Development Company, Ltd. where he
developed nearly 6 million square feet of retail space across the U.S.
before selling the company to Cousins in 1992. His 30 years of
development experience include the execution of more than 50 commercial
projects totaling more than 16 million square feet, and the management
of more than 30 JV partnerships.
Gellerstedt served as chairman and chief executive officer of the Beers
Construction Company from 1986 to 1998. In 1998, after the sale of Beers
to Skanska USA, he was elected chairman and chief executive officer of
American Business Products, a NYSE-listed manufacturer of packaging and
printed office products. In 2000, Gellerstedt became president and chief
operating officer of The Integral Group, a nationally known urban
mixed-use development company. He went on to found The Gellerstedt Group
in 2003.
Cousins Properties Incorporated is a leading diversified real estate
company with extensive experience in development, acquisition,
financing, management and leasing. Based in Atlanta, the Company
actively invests in office, multi-family, retail, and land development
projects. Since its founding in 1958, Cousins has developed 20 million
square feet of office space, 20 million square feet of retail space,
more than 3,500 multi-family units and more than 60 single-family
neighborhoods. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate
investment trust (REIT) and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under
the symbol CUZ. For more, please visit www.cousinsproperties.com.
Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking
statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are
subject to uncertainties and risk. These include, but are not
limited to, general and local economic conditions (including the current
general recession and state of the credit markets), local real estate
conditions (including the overall condition of the residential markets),
the activity of others developing competitive projects, the risks
associated with development projects (such as delay, cost overruns and
leasing/sales risk of new properties), the cyclical nature of the real
estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest
rates, the Company's ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning,
environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the ability of the
Company to close properties under contract and other risks detailed from
time to time in the Company's filings with the Securities and Exchange
Commission, including those described in Part I, Item 1A of the
Company's Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31,
2007. The words "believes," "expects," "anticipates," "estimates" and
similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements.
Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and
expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable,
the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or
expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based
on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The
Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any
forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new
information or otherwise.
Source: Cousins Properties Incorporated
Contact: Cousins Properties Incorporated
Cameron Golden
Director of Investor Relations/Corporate Communications
404-407-1984
camerongolden@cousinsproperties.com
www.cousinsproperties.com