James Heistand

Jim Heistand served as President and Chief Executive Officer of Parkway Properties, Inc., a NYSE-listed office REIT headquartered in Orlando, Florida from January 2012 until October 12, 2017. Parkway merged with Cousins Properties in October 2016 and the Houston assets of both companies were spun out to Parkway. A joint venture with the CPPIB and Teachers was created for 57% of this portfolio in early 2017. Then in October 2017, took the company private with CPPIB and he now serves as Chairman and CEO with a controlling interest in the entity. Parkway, now as a private entity, operates and owns approximately 17 mm square feet of office properties valued at over $3.5 billion. With Mr. Heistand as President and CEO, Parkway Properties experienced tremendous growth and strategic realignment focusing on building a premier portfolio of office properties in the Sunbelt. Under his leadership since 2012, Parkway: acquired $4 billion of office assets totaling over 15 million square feet sold $2 billion of office assets brought in TPG for a $275mm pipe investment took the equity market cap from $200 million to $2.2 billion completely repositioned the portfolio and monetized for TPG a 2x multiple of capital in four years Parkway’s stock realized an annual rate of return in excess of 21% at relatively low leverage, making Legacy Parkway the highest performing office REIT within its peer group. Mr. Heistand joined Parkway as Chairman in 2011 through the company’s merger with Eola Capital. As Eola’s founder and chairman since its inception in 1999, he was responsible for the acquisition of $1.3 billion of office assets backed by PSP, GE Capital, Lehman Brothers and others that included 13.3 million square feet in Florida, Atlanta and Virginia. Mr. Heistand served as chairman of DASCO with his purchase of the company, an owner, developer and operator of medical office buildings throughout the United States, from 1999 until its sale to CNL Assisted Living REIT in 2004. In 1989, Mr. Heistand founded and served as chairman and CEO of Associated Capital Properties, Inc., an office and investment company focused in Florida. He directed all areas of the company’s operations, including its strategic planning, acquisitions, development and financings, until its sale in 1997 to Highwoods Properties. ACP had grown to be the largest private owner of office properties in Florida. Jim subsequently served as a senior vice president for Highwoods from 1997 to 1999 and as a member of its board of directors. Prior to forming ACP, Mr. Heistand was President of Major Realty in 1987, a publicly traded real estate company. Mr. Heistand graduated from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate Finance, and he started his career in 1976 at Coopers & Lybrand as an internal auditor. Mr. Heistand is a member of the Chairman’s Circle of the real estate advisory board for the Warrington College of Business Administration at the University of Florida and is a recipient of the UF Bergstrom Center Hall of Fame Award in 2016.