LEADERSHIP
E. Nelson Mills
President
As President, Chief Executive Officer, and Director of Columbia Property Trust, Nelson Mills is responsible for the company's overall strategy, capital transactions, operations, and the performance of its portfolio of investments. Mr. Mills served as an Independent Director on the Columbia Property Trust Board since 2007 before being named President and Chief Executive Officer in 2010. In this position, he led the company in the establishment of an internal management team, a substantial repositioning of the portfolio, enhanced and expanded access to more efficient capital resources, and the development of a comprehensive strategic plan and growth strategy for the future.
Mr. Mills has more than 30 years of experience in the real estate investment and financial services industries. Prior to joining Columbia Property Trust in 2010, he served for five years as the President and Chief Operating Officer of Williams Realty Advisors, LLC, manager and advisor to a series of real estate investment funds serving both institutional and individual investors. In this role, he was responsible for the firm's investment and financial strategy and oversaw the design, formation, investment, and operations of several substantial funds, across multiple asset classes.
Previously, Mr. Mills served as Chief Financial Officer with Lend Lease Real Estate Investments (US), Inc., one of the world's largest institutional investment managers specializing in the acquisition and management of commercial real estate. He began his career in the financial industry as a partner with KPMG LLP, specializing in tax and transaction advisory services for the real estate industry. He received a B.S. in Business Administration from the University of Tennessee, and an M.B.A. from the University of Georgia.
LEADERSHIP
James A. Fleming
Executive Vice President
James A. (Jim) Fleming is Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Columbia Property Trust (NYSE:CXP), where he is responsible for the company's finance, treasury, investor relations, capital markets and financial reporting functions.
Mr. Fleming has over 30 years of experience in the real estate industry. Prior to joining Columbia in 2013, he was Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Schottenstein Property Group, a national shopping center owner-operator. Earlier, he served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE:CUZ), a real estate investment trust. During his ten years with Cousins, he also held the roles of Senior Vice President, General Counsel, and Secretary.
Mr. Fleming was a member of the Board of Directors of Carmike Cinemas, Inc. (NASDAQ:CKEC), a national motion picture exhibitor, from 2009 until it was sold to AMC Theatres in December 2016. On the Carmike board, he served on the Audit Committee, the Compensation and Nominating Committee, and the Executive Committee. He received a B.E.E. from Auburn University and a J.D. from the University of Virginia.
LEADERSHIP
Linda Bolan
Senior Vice President
As the Senior Vice President of National Property Management & Sustainability for Columbia Property Trust, Linda Bolan is responsible for developing and overseeing the property management and engineering operations, capital improvement projects, and financial activities for the company's assets. She is directly responsible for more than 9 million square feet of office space.
Prior to joining Columbia Property Trust in 2015, Ms. Bolan worked for JLL for 22 years in a variety of leadership roles. Most recently she served as International Director and Regional Manager in the Atlanta market, where she was responsible for overall property management business operations, client relationship management, business growth and employee development. Her tenure at JLL involved assignments in New Jersey, New York City, Washington D.C., Atlanta, Charlotte, and Nashville. Prior to JLL, Ms. Bolan was a junior military officer recruiter and commercial banker. Before starting her civilian career, she was a Lieutenant in the U.S. Navy Supply Corp.
Ms. Bolan is a member of BOMA, NAIOP and CREW and holds the LEED Green Associate accreditation. She is a seven-year member of the Southface Energy Institute Board of Directors, serving as Board Chair from 2014-2015. She received a B.S. with a concentration in General Engineering and Political Science, U.S. Naval Academy.
LEADERSHIP
David Cheikin
Senior Vice President
As the Senior Vice President of Strategic Real Estate Initiatives for Columbia Property Trust, David Cheikin is responsible for providing operational leadership for Columbia's national real estate portfolio, with direct oversight of properties in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston. Working from Columbia's New York executive office, he also serves on Columbia's Investment Committee.
Prior to joining Columbia Property Trust in 2018, Mr. Cheikin spent 16 years with Brookfield Properties, serving most recently as the executive vice president and head of its New York and Boston regions. In that role, he oversaw the performance of that company's 25 million-square-foot commercial portfolio, inclusive of asset management, office leasing, retail leasing, property marketing, property operations and on-site arts/activation. Cheikin led several notable recent projects for Brookfield, including the repositioning and re-leasing of the 8.5 million-square-foot Brookfield Place NY complex, the pending redevelopment and re-leasing of 1100 Avenue of the Americas, as well as the leasing and asset management of the six-building, 7 million-square-foot, ground-up Manhattan West development in the Hudson Yards District.
Mr. Cheikin is an active member of the Urban Land Institute.As the Senior Vice President of Strategic Real Estate Initiatives for Columbia Property Trust, David Cheikin is responsible for providing operational leadership for Columbia's national real estate portfolio, with direct oversight of properties in New York, Washington D.C., and Boston. Working from Columbia's New York executive office, he also serves on Columbia's Investment Committee.
LEADERSHIP
David Dowdney
Senior Vice President
Dave Dowdney heads all leasing efforts nationally for Columbia Property Trust. He is responsible for developing regional leasing strategies and performance goals to maximize revenue potential for all of Columbia's assets in New York, San Francisco, Washington D.C., and other markets, in alignment with corporate objectives and marketing conditions. Mr. Dowdney joined Columbia in 2014 as Senior Vice President – Western Region. Under his leadership, the company underwrote $11 billion in potential acquisitions and completed more than 1 million square feet of leasing in those markets, which took the company's 2 million-square-foot San Francisco portfolio from 89% to 97% leased.
Mr. Dowdney came to Columbia from GE Capital Real Estate, where he spent nearly eight years managing activities for GE's West Coast portfolio, first as Acquisitions Director and then as Western Region Manager, Asset Management. Previously, Mr. Dowdney spent 10 years leading other asset management and real estate transaction activities, most recently as Vice President of Portfolio Management for Divco West Properties, and earlier as Vice President of JLL's Leasing and Management Group in San Francisco and Los Angeles.
Mr. Dowdney is an active member of both the Urban Land Institute and the Commercial Real Estate Development Association (NAIOP). He also serves on the board of the Northern California Real Estate Council for the City of Hope, a leading research hospital in Los Angeles. He received a B.A. in Geography from the University of California, Los Angeles and an M.B.A. in Finance and Real Estate from the University of California, Berkeley – Walter A. Haas School of Business.
LEADERSHIP
Wendy Gill
Senior Vice President
Wendy W. Gill is Senior Vice President of Corporate Operations and Chief Accounting Officer for Columbia Property Trust. Ms. Gill oversees the Company’s accounting and tax functional areas, including reporting to the SEC, NYSE and Columbia’s board of directors and ensuring that internal controls over financial reporting are Sarbanes-Oxley compliant. She is also in charge of the Company’s corporate operations, which includes corporate governance, treasury, human resources, shareholder services and information technology.
Ms. Gill has more than 20 years of experience in the accounting and finance industries. Ms. Gill was appointed to her current position in 2013, as the Company established its inaugural team in preparation to list its shares on the NYSE. Ms. Gill also served as the Company’s interim Principal Financial Officer in 2013. Previously, Ms. Gill served with Wells Real Estate Funds, Columbia Property Trust’s predecessor advisory firm, for 11 years in progressive roles until her appointment to Chief Accounting Officer in 2007. Earlier in her career, she worked for Arthur Andersen as an audit manager in the firm’s Atlanta and Washington, D.C., offices, with a focus on clients in the real estate, hospitality and financial services industries.
Ms. Gill earned a B.S. degree in Accounting from the University of Delaware. She holds the Certified Public Accountant designation from the Maryland State Board of Public Accountancy and is a member of the Georgia Society of Certified Public Accountants.
LEADERSHIP
Kevin Hoover
Senior Vice President
As Senior Vice President – Portfolio Management and Transactions for Columbia Property Trust, Kevin Hoover oversees the implementation of the Company's real estate investment strategy. Mr. Hoover works closely with the regional teams in directing the Company's acquisition, finance, and disposition activities, as well as coordinating the asset management, leasing and operations for the portfolio. He also chairs Columbia's Investment Committee and has been serving Columbia since 2004 in various capacities.
Mr. Hoover has nearly 30 years of broad-based commercial real estate experience, including portfolio and investment management, capital transactions, marketing, investment analysis and underwriting, and valuation. Previously, he served as co-head of the Asset Management team for Wells Real Estate Funds and as Portfolio Manager for several of its sponsored real estate products. He also served as a Principal of Equity Portfolio Management for Lend Lease Real Estate Investments and as a Manager of Real Estate Valuation/Advisor Services Practice for Price Waterhouse (predecessor to PricewaterhouseCoopers).
Mr. Hoover is a member of the Urban Land Institute, the National Association of Office and Industrial Properties, the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers, the Appraisal Institute, and the Certified Commercial Investment Member Institute. He received a B.B.A. in Real Estate from the University of Georgia, graduating Summa Cum Laude as a First Honor Graduate.
LEADERSHIP
Amy Tabb
Senior Vice President
As Senior Vice President of Business Development for Columbia Property Trust, Amy Tabb collaborates with senior management to define and execute the Company's strategic objectives. She is responsible for supporting the company's growth initiatives while working with management to monitor the progress of the business goals. Additionally, she manages partnership development; sourcing and establishing relationships with operating and investment partners.
An operational leader, Ms. Tabb works with the real estate teams to ensure activities are aligned with business objectives for the portfolio. With a focus on creating and driving added value, she serves as a key monitor of the day-to-day operations across the platform by ensuring work quality and adherence to policies and procedures. She also oversees the Company's enterprise risk management function.
Prior to joining Columbia Property Trust in 2013, Ms. Tabb founded and served as the president of Sara Charles LLC, providing advisory services for publicly owned companies. Previous to that, she was a manager at Grant Thornton where she led international and domestic 404 compliance engagements.
