Kennedy Hicks, who was elevated to Cousins Properties' executive vice president of investments in 2020, has moved up once again, this time to the real estate investment trust's C-suite.
The Atlanta-based REIT said it promoted Hicks, 39, to chief investment officer, effective last week. There had been no one in that role previously, a Cousins spokeswoman said in an email.
In her new role, Hicks is responsible for acquisitions, dispositions and strategic investments for the company. She also serves as managing director of Cousins' Atlanta market.
She joined Cousins four years ago and quickly ascended the REIT's ranks. Cousins President and CEO Colin Connolly said he expects Hicks to continue to contribute to the REIT's successful investments across the Sun Belt.
"Kennedy is an invaluable member of our leadership team and has played a key role in our transactions and strategic investment activities," Connolly said in a statement.
Hicks joined Cousins in October 2018 from Eastdil, where she spent nearly a decade, most recently as a managing director. At Eastdil she advised and represented clients on sales and ventures for office properties across the Sun Belt.
Her career also includes five years with CBRE, where she spent three years as director of finance in the firm's Southeast office investment team.
Cousins Properties is one of the Sun Belt's largest office real estate investment trusts. It owns nearly 19 million square feet of space from Charlotte, North Carolina, to Phoenix, Arizona. Its largest markets are Atlanta, Georgia, and Austin, Texas.
Earlier this month, the REIT announced that Fortune 500 energy company Apache Corp. signed a deal for 328,000 square feet at Cousins' Briarlake Plaza in Houston. Cousins said Apache planned to relocate its headquarters to the office tower.
On the investment side, Cousins said in an Oct. 27 filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission that it paid off in full its mortgages on Legacy Union One in Plano, Texas, and Promenade Tower in midtown Atlanta without penalty.