Ken Kraft is the founder of the Parker Hudson Real Estate practice group. Over the course of his 40+ year career he has worked on billions of dollars’ worth of real estate transactions and more than 25,000,000 square feet of leases, in deals at all levels of complexity. His experience, judgment and reputation ensure that his clients are in the optimum position to achieve their objectives.

A former senior executive for Atlanta developer Taylor & Mathis and The Ritz-Carlton Hotel Company, Ken truly understands and is oriented to the business of commercial real estate. He represents owners, lenders, and developers in the purchase, sale, financing, and development of office, industrial, residential, and hotel real estate. In addition, Ken regularly represents clients in large national headquarters leases and leasing of retail locations throughout the United States.

Ken is steadfastly committed to seeing his clients’ deals through to a successful conclusion. The breadth of his experience over the commercial real estate landscape enables Ken innately to understand not only the needs of his clients, but also those of his clients’ counterparties, and thereby devise solutions that work without compromising client goals. One client described Ken’s leadership and creativity succinctly: "He cuts through the clutter" – Chambers USA 2017.

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.

Jamie Hodari has executive responsibility for CBRE’s Building Operations & Experience (BOE) business segment, which unifies building operations, workplace experience and property management, positioning CBRE to deliver scalable, future-ready solutions for offices, data centers, warehouses and other facilities.

BOE consists of CBRE’s Enterprise Facilities Management, Local Facilities Management and Property Management business lines and Industrious, CBRE’s wholly owned flexible workplace subsidiary. This segment produced approximately $20 billion of combined revenue, including Industrious, in 2024 and comprises CBRE’s entire 7+ billion sq. ft. global property and corporate facilities management portfolio.

As CBRE’s Chief Commercial Officer, Mr. Hodari also has responsibility for marketing and branding activities across all CBRE businesses.

Jamie Hodari is also Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder of Industrious, the flexible workplace industry's largest premium provider, with more than 200 locations in over 65 global markets.

Mr. Hodari co-founded Industrious in 2012 and has served as Chief Executive Officer since its inception. Under his leadership, Industrious has expanded its global footprint and redefined how companies manage their workplace. The company was named one of America’s fastest-growing companies by Inc. Magazine in both 2020 and 2024.

Prior to Industrious, Mr. Hodari served as Co-Founder and Chief Executive Officer of Kepler, which pioneered a lower-cost, high-performing university model in East Africa. Earlier in his career, he was an investor at Birch Run Capital, a corporate attorney at Sullivan & Cromwell, and a reporter for the Times of India.

In 2024, the Commercial Observer named Mr. Hodari to its Power 100 list and Thesis Driven named Mr. Hodari #3 on its list of the 100 most innovative people in real estate. Mr. Hodari holds a J.D. from Yale Law School, an M.P.P. from Harvard University, and a B.A. from Columbia University.

Thad, who leads Cousins’ Atlanta, Dallas, and Raleigh office portfolios,

has more than 30 years of real estate expertise including development,

leasing and property management for the Cousins’ Class A office portfolio.

Thad began his real estate career in 1984. He joined Peterson Properties

in 1986 and was a senior executive at Carr America through its 1996

acquisition of Peterson Properties. Thad was the Managing Director for

CarrAmerica’s Atlanta and Florida offices. At CarrAmerica, Thad was

directly involved with the acquisition, disposition and/or development of

the office product and was a member of the firm’s Investment Committee.

Prior to joining Cousins in 2006, Thad was the Managing Director of GVA

Advantis’ Atlanta office and a member of the firm’s executive committee.

Community Involvement

Thad is an advisory board member and past president of the National

Association of Industrial and Office Properties (NAIOP) and is on

the board of the following organizations: the Buckhead Community

Improvement District, the Executive Committee for the Midtown

Alliance, Boys and Girls Club of Atlanta and the Corporate Campaign

Committee for Woodruff Arts. He is also the past Chair for Washington

& Lee’s Annual Fund.

Education

Bachelor of Arts degree from Washington & Lee University.

Bob Johnson is a Senior Director with Marcus & Millichap's National Office and Industrial Properties Group, specializing in office and industrial investment sales and leasing. Prior to joining Marcus & Millichap, Mr. Johnson served at JLL as a leader on the Southeast Investment Sales team where he helped guide the JLL Southeast Investment Sales Team in their highest revenue production in the past five years. Mr. Johnson also had a tenure at Grubb & Ellis, where as Senior Vice President, he was recruited for his strong knowledge and experience in investment sales and leasing transactions. While at Grubb and Ellis, Mr. Johnson was part of the Institutional/Private Capital Group, where he provided his clients a comprehensive approach to completing transactions through a broad platform of solutions. With over 26 years of experience, Mr. Johnson has fulfilled numerous roles within the commercial real estate industry. He has executed over $2 billion in sales and lease transactions throughout his career and is identified as a primary point of contact for large portfolio sales and individual building sales for both institutional and individual investors. His success has earned him consistent, multi-year recognition for outstanding production and client accolades. During his career, he has successfully completed sales assignments for John Hancock, GE Capital, Parkway Properties, RREEF, and Hudson Advisors. Additionally, he has completed leasing assignments for AEW, Traveler's Insurance, TA Associates and BGK Properties.

An expert in developing complex, large-scale mixed-use developments, John brings a passion for creating great places to Toro

Development Company. Kelley leads all aspects of commercial development, applying a collaborative approach that blends

creative thinking with technical expertise.

With over 23 years of experience, Kelley has developed nearly six million square feet of award-winning projects with a combined

valuation of more than $2 billion. Prior to joining Toro Development Company, Kelley served as Partner and Senior Vice President

of Commercial Development at North American Properties where he led the mixed-use development platform for the company’s

Atlanta office. During that time, he oversaw the ground-up development of Avalon, the $1 billion “urbanburb” in Alpharetta, and

the iconic transformation of Colony Square in Midtown Atlanta.

John graduated from Georgia Tech with a Bachelor of Civil Engineering degree and earned an MBA in Real Estate from the

University of Georgia.

Gene Rice is a native Atlantan who graduated from The University of Georgia with a degree in Consumer Economics. As a co-founder of Vantage Realty Partners, in 2007, Gene has built the business from the ground up, developing strong relationships with neighbors, business owners, investors and developers alike. His primary focus is to create value on projects that have a positive impact on the entire community.

Gene has forged a niche in tenant representation and site selection in the office, retail and restaurant markets. He also works with principals on investment properties ranging from retail centers to land and mixed-use developments.

Gene and his wife Isabel live in Virginia Highland with their two children. The couple is very active in their community, having founded the highly successful Zoo Atlanta fundraiser, Jazzoo (www.JazzooAtlanta.org) in 2008. In addition, in 2008 Gene and Isabel partnered with Catholic Charities to bring Adopt-A-Family to their parish, the Cathedral of Christ the King. Through this program, they have helped over 300 families in need each year during the Christmas season.

Gene is a member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, International Council of Shopping Centers, YCR, Old 4th Ward Business Association, Christian Business Leaders, the Capital Group, JAZZOO Atlanta Board, and Adopt-A-Family.