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Speakers and Panels

Mike Plant

Mike Plant

President & CEO of Development

Atlanta Braves

Tad Leithead

Tad Leithead

Chairman, Cumberland Community Improvement District

Principal, TLA

Connie Engel

Connie Engel

Partner

Childress Klein

Tony Zanze

Tony Zanze

COO & Founder

Hamilton Zanze & Company

Jennifer Koontz

Jennifer Koontz

Managing Director – Leasing

Pope & Land

Harvey Wadsworth

Harvey Wadsworth

Managing Director

Portman Residential

Chad Koenig
Moderator

Chad Koenig

Senior Director

Cushman & Wakefield

Mike Plant

President & CEO of Development

Atlanta Braves

Mike Plant is in his 15th season with the Atlanta Braves, and in 2018 was

named President and CEO of Braves Development Company. Plant joined the

organization as Executive Vice President of Business Operations in November of 2003.

As part of the Braves executive leadership team, Plant was instrumental in the Braves’ efforts to secure and

oversee construction, leasing, financing and management of SunTrust Park and the adjacent mixed-use

development, The Battery Atlanta, which opened in Cobb County in April 2017.

Plant joined the Braves after having served as Executive Vice President of Turner Sports since February 2002.

In that position, he was in charge of the day-to-day operations of the division, a $500-million acquisition,

promotion and production company that at the time broadcast approximately 1,200 hours of sports programming

on various Turner networks.

Before becoming Executive Vice President of Turner Sports, Plant was President of Ted Turner’s multi-sport

event, The Goodwill Games, and Vice President of Events for Turner Sports. He was responsible for the overall

direction and management of The Goodwill Games, as well as all sports properties acquired by Turner Sports.

Prior to joining Turner Sports, Plant was Owner and President of Medalist Sports, a full-service sports

marketing company he founded in 1988. Medalist Sports created and operated premier professional cycling

events in the United States and China. In addition, Plant was the Associate Executive Director of the United States

Cycling Federation in Colorado Springs, Colo., from 1986 to 1988 and the Executive Director of the Canoe and

Kayak Team from 1985 to 1986.

Plant was a member of the 1980 U.S. Olympic speedskating team in Lake Placid, NY, and a six-time member of

the U.S. World Championship speedskating teams. Since 1980, he has been appointed to numerous committees

and boards for the U.S. Olympic Committee (USOC), the U.S. International Speedskating Association, International

Cycling Federation, and USA Cycling. Plant served on the Atlanta Committee for the 1996 Olympic Games (ACOG)

Board of Directors and the Board of Trustees for the Salt Lake City Olympic Bid Committee for the 2002 Winter

Games.

Plant served two eight-year terms on the USOC’s Board of Directors and Executive Committee (1984-1992 and

2003-2011). He was Chairman of the USOC Athletes Council, and Chairman of the Athlete Performance Group

(1992-1996). Plant was President of USA Cycling, the National Governing Body for Olympic cycling, from 1995 to

2002, and is the current President of U.S. Speedskating.

Internationally, Plant served on the International Cycling Federation’s (UCI) Executive Committee for 20 years,

and was President of three different commissions. In 2009, Plant was elected U.S. Olympic Chef de Mission for

the Olympic team for the 2010 Vancouver Olympic Games.

He and his wife Mary have two daughters, Erika and Maddie, and a son, Drew.

Tad Leithead

Chairman, Cumberland Community Improvement District

Principal, TLA

Prior to Leithead forming his own governmental relations, entitlement, and consulting firm, he was responsible

for leading Cousins Properties development efforts as they relate to entitlement issues throughout the Atlanta

region. He served as liaison for Cousins with the various county and city governmental entities and project

related community-based organizations. He has 28 years of experience in the Atlanta commercial and real

estate market and has leased some five million square feet of office and retail space.

As a founding partner with Childress Klein Properties, Mr. Leithead was instrumental in the operation of the

Atlanta Galleria, one of Atlanta’s premier mixed-use developments. He was a key participant in the

development of Cobb Galleria Centre – a 300,000 square-foot county owned convention center.

In 1998, Leithead formed Urban One Associates, a development and transportation consulting firm, working

with Midtown Alliance, Perimeter Center, Gwinnett and Cobb Counties, and others in the formation of several

new Community Improvement Districts (CIDs). He was a principal in the development of Ridenour, a 90-acre

“Smart Growth” community in northwest Cobb County – which received the Atlanta Regional Commission’s

“Development of Excellence” award in 1999.

From 2009 to 2012, Mr. Leithead served two terms as Chairman of the Atlanta Regional Commission, a 39-

member board that steers the planning and development for the 10-county metro Atlanta region. He also

served on the ARC board from 2000 to 2012, and was Chair of its Transportation & Air Quality Committee from

2007-2009.

Leithead is the Chairman of the Cumberland Community Improvement District, formed in 1988, a self-taxing

group of commercial property owners that have leveraged nearly $140 million in local dollars into an estimated

$2.5 billion in capital improvements. In 1994, he served as Chairman of the Cobb County Chamber of Commerce

and also received the Lockheed Corporation Management Association’s “Manager of the

Year” award. Additionally, he serves on the Boards of Directors of the Fulton County Perimeter Community

Improvement District and the North Fulton Community Improvement District. He is past Chairman of the Board

of the Walker School.

Mr. Leithead is a resident of Fulton County and graduated with a B.A. from Washington and Lee University.

Connie Engel

Partner

Childress Klein

Ms. Engel is an accomplished commercial real estate executive. Her broad strengths include business development and commercial real estate development, personnel management, sales management and product marketing. Ms. Engel’s leadership abilities have been recognized by organizations, corporations and foundations. She is the immediate Past-Chair of the Kennesaw State University Foundation and in 2011 Connie was named Executive in Residence for the Coles College of Business at Kennesaw State University. Previously she was President of the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties of Georgia (NAIOP) and she is a Past President of Commercial Real Estate Women.

Ms. Engel additionally has a wide understanding of current issues, obstacles and opportunities facing our country in foreign policy and national security which she has received through her membership in and involvement with Business Executives for National Security. (BENS).

Ms. Engel is a Partner in the Atlanta Office Division of Childress Klein Properties and has been in charge of development and leasing at the prestigious Atlanta Galleria, for over twenty years. Responsibilities include lease negotiations (legal and economic issues), development and implementation of advertising, marketing strategy and preparation and implementation of the budgets for approximately 2,000,000 square feet of Class A office space in five high rise office buildings.

Ms. Engel has been frequently recognized as a leader in her industry. In 2010, NAIOP of Georgia honored Ms. Engel with the Award of Excellence for dedicated service to the commercial real estate industry. Twice she was the Top Producer in office leasing in the greater metropolitan Atlanta. In 2015, Ms. Engel was inducted into the inaugural Kennesaw State University Business School Hall of Fame in recognition of professional accomplishments, contribution and leadership in the community.

Ms. Engel’s community involvement responsibilities include being an elected Board Member in 1998 and Treasurer (2000 – 2008) of the Cumberland Community Improvement District, which is responsible for allocating a special property tax collected from commercial property owners for transportation and other improvements in Cobb County. The CCID has leveraged over $100 million of private assessments to over $1 billion in transportation and streetscape improvements.

In 2005, Ms. Engel was selected to serve on the Board of Trustees for Kennesaw State University, the third largest and fastest growing university in the state of Georgia. In 2006, she was asked to increase her involvement by becoming a member of the Executive Committee and in 2007 she became Chair of the Real Estate Committee. In 2008, the Real Estate committee spearheaded the purchase of 100 acres of land for future sports/stadium areas for Kennesaw State University. She has received the Erwin Zaban Award and the Clarice Bagwell Award from Kennesaw State University for outstanding contribution and leadership within the KSU Board of Trustees. In October of 2009 she was elected Vice Chair of the Foundation and in October of 2010 she was chosen Chair Elect of the Foundation. She became Chair of The Foundation in October 2012 and completed her term in 2014. Currently she is immediate past chair of the Foundation.

In 2011, Georgia Governor Nathan Deal appointed Ms. Engel to the Georgia Board of Dentistry, consumer representative.

Ms. Engel graduated from the University of Iowa with a B.A. in Communications and an area of concentration in Public Address. She is an MBA graduate of Kennesaw State University’s Coles College of Business.

Ms. Engel’s interests include golf and flying: she is a certified multi-engine pilot of 18 years. Ms. Engel has been married to Pete Watson for over twenty-five years and has three children: Jacqueline Watson Grech, Esq.; Sarah Oddsen DeCaro, M.D.; and Ellis Watson, a graduate of the University of Georgia.

Tony Zanze

COO & Founder

Hamilton Zanze & Company

Prior to co-founding Hamilton Zanze in 2001, Tony Zanze’s experience in real estate included capital markets, asset management, leasing, development, and investment and brokerage of multifamily and commercial properties.

Before HZ, Tony was with RREEF Real Estate Investment Managers overseeing asset disposition. Before joining RREEF, he was manager of the San Francisco office of GE Capital Real Estate, where he handled the production of mortgage-backed securities, structured finance, and equity investments. From 1986 to 1997, Tony was with Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance Company, where he originated long-term fixed-rate loans and joint ventures.

Tony began his career as a sales investment broker with Cushman & Wakefield and holds a B.A. in Psychology from Dartmouth College and an M.B.A. in Real Estate from the University of Wisconsin.

Jennifer Koontz

Managing Director – Leasing

Pope & Land

Pope & Land Responsibilities: Jennifer oversees the leasing for both Pope & Land’s office portfolio and

assets for several third-party owners. Currently Jennifer and her team lease 1.7 million square feet of

office space that is on average 92% leased. When working on overall mixed-use developments, Jennifer

leases both ground floor and stand-alone retail. Additionally, Jennifer works closely with Asset and

Construction Management to evaluate and oversee property improvements, insuring that the

improvements chosen will yield the highest return to investors.

Professional Experience: Originally starting as a leasing assistant and construction manager, Jennifer

has been leasing in most of the major submarkets for more than 13 years. She has leased over 3.6

million square feet during her tenure at Pope & Land. For more than 10 consecutive years she has been

a member of both the NAIOP and Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtor’s Million Dollar Club.

Education: Jennifer has a BS in Business Management from Wake Forest University and has her CCIM

designation.

Membership: Finishing up the 3 rd year on the Atlanta Commercial Board’s Board of Directors, Jennifer is

active in the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, NAIOP and CCIM.

Personal: She lives in Brookhaven with her husband Charles and two kids.

Harvey Wadsworth

Managing Director

Portman Residential

Harvey comes to Portman Residential from Mill Creek Residential Trust where he led development operations for the Atlanta region, and prior to that, Jamestown Properties. He brings a strong focus on mixed-use development, urban high-rise construction and strategic multi-family development to our team, managing national operations and overseeing strategy and execution. Harvey has spent his fifteen-plus real estate career building Atlanta, and has been involved in the development of more than 4,000 multifamily homes with a total capitalization of over $1.2 billion. He is an active member of the Urban Land Institute, Real Estate Group of Atlanta, and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Chad Koenig

Moderator

Cushman & Wakefield

Chad Koenig is a Senior Director with C&W Atlanta’s Office Tenant Advisory Group, with more than 18 years of experience in commercial real estate. He provides strategic occupancy consulting and representation for tenants in regards to office relocations, renewals, consolidation, sub-lease dispositions and other requirements. During his career, he has represented clients in leasing more than 6 million square feet of space, amounting to more than $600 million in transactions.

His clients benefit from his extensive experience in market and demographic analysis, lease negotiations, financial modeling, needs analysis, site selection, and the disposition of excess space through a strategic sublease campaign. Mr. Koenig’s creativity in formulating occupancy strategies and his in-depth market knowledge help him add significant value to his clients’ bottom line.

Prior to joining C&W in 2014, Mr. Koenig was a Managing Director with NAI Brannen Goddard in Atlanta, where he had worked since 1999. A member of the firm’s NAI Office Council and NAI Gold Club from 2003-2013, he was consistently one of the top performing office brokers with the firm.

Mr. Koenig earned his Bachelor of Business, Hotel, Restaurant & Institutional Management degree from Penn State University. He is a licensed real estate agent in Georgia; a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board; a member of the Georgia Association of Realtors; a member of the Metro Atlanta Chamber of Commerce’s Economic Development Committee and Education Committee; the director of the Cumberland Office Park Association; a member of the Cobb Chamber’s Competitive CobbEDGE as well as the Cobb Chamber Chairman’s Club; a member of the National Association of Realtors; and a Trustee at The Ron Clark Academy.

Summary

1) What does Cumberland need to keep attracting major office tenants? How does Cumberland's office market compete with its neighbors?

2) What do Cumberland's residents want for the neighborhood over the next 5, 10, and 20 years? How are developers aligning their projects with resident wants and needs?

3) What are the Cumberland CID's top priorities for 2018? What is the CID doing this year to combat increasing traffic and transit issues?

4) How is Cumberland's multifamily market posed to compete with its neighbors in 2018?

5) What about Cumberland is so attractive to developers?

Venue

Atlanta Marriott Northwest at Galleria
200 Interstate North Parkway, SE
Atlanta, GA 30339

Ballroom: Cobb Ballroom, 3rd Floor


Valet: $17 per car
Self-$6 per car

Agenda

Time Activity
11:30 AM
12:30 PM
Breakfast & Networking
12:30 PM
1:30 PM
Cumberland's Major Players Talk Future of Cumberland
1:30 PM
2:00 PM
Post-Event Networking