Diane S. Paddison Joins Cassidy Turley as Chief Strategy Officer

ST. LOUIS, Feb. 10 /PRNewswire/ -- Cassidy Turley, one of the nation's largest commercial real estate services providers, announced today that Diane S. Paddison has joined the company as Chief Strategy Officer. Ms. Paddison will report directly to the CEO, Mark Burkhart, and will serve as a member of the Board of Directors and the Executive Committee of the Company.

She will focus on strategic planning, integration of the companies comprising Cassidy Turley, and assisting with recruitment for key leadership positions.  Other areas of focus will include account management and new business development for Corporate and Investor Services, and talent management with an emphasis on leadership development, diversity, and operations.

Ms. Paddison is the former COO of ProLogis and President of Client Accounts, Global Corporate Services for CB Richard Ellis (CBRE).  

At ProLogis, Ms. Paddison focused on organizational process and helped to bring together global teams in the areas of operations, technology, sustainability, marketing, and customer account management.

At CBRE, Ms. Paddison was responsible for a global corporate services business, delivering those services through a 4,500-employee, client-centric account management delivery model.  In this role, she integrated CBRE's service lines to provide a single point of contact for corporate clients and led recruiting, mentoring, and succession planning efforts to develop a team dedicated to service improvement.

Prior to CBRE's acquisition of Trammell Crow Company (TCC) in December 2006, Ms. Paddison served as Chief Operating Officer for Global Services for TCC. There, she developed TCC's Global Services client strategy, helping to maintain key corporate and investor customer relationships.  She began her real estate career with TCC in 1987 as a leasing agent in Tulsa, Oklahoma and held various management positions prior to being appointed to TCC Executive Committee in 2005.

"With more than 20 years of client-focused real estate services experience, Diane is an excellent addition to Cassidy Turley" said Mark Burkhart.  "She brings a wealth of knowledge from running operations for two Fortune 500 companies in the real estate industry.  Additionally, this background in developing and implementing process and operations tools will be immensely beneficial as we enhance our infrastructure to support the next phase of our growth."

"I've known and worked with Diane for many years, and I am thrilled that she is joining our team," commented Joseph Stettinius, Jr., President of Cassidy Turley.  "Diane is a tremendous leader.  Her ability to inspire people to deliver best-in-class services to clients will be a huge contribution to our organization."

"From my vantage point, Cassidy Turley is strategically positioned to fill a competitive position in the commercial real estate services industry that is not being filled today," Ms. Paddison said.  "I am passionate about client account management, process development and execution, and talent management – a critical success factor in any company."

Ms. Paddison, 50, holds a Master of Business Administration degree from Harvard Graduate School of Business Administration and a Bachelor of Science degree from Oregon State University.  She is a board member for Behringer Harvard Opportunity Fund II, the chair of the Dean's Circle of Excellence at Oregon State University's College of Business, a board member of the Business School Dean's Advisory Board at Abilene Christian University, and chair of the executive board for Young Life, North Central Texas Region.  Her professional memberships include Women Corporate Directors and National Association of Corporate Directors.

About Cassidy Turley

The firm will operate as Cassidy Turley starting March 1, 2010.  Cassidy Turley is one of the largest commercial real estate service providers in the U.S., with 420 million square feet of managed space in 58 locations and $16 billion in completed transactions for 2008. The firms comprising Cassidy Turley include Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers in Washington, DC, Colliers Turley Martin Tucker in the Midwest, Colliers ABR in New York City and Colliers Pinkard in Baltimore, Charlotte and Raleigh, along with the addition of BT Commercial and CPS in Northern California (formerly affiliated with NAI and CORFAC, respectively), BRE Commercial in Southern California and Phoenix (both formerly affiliated with Grubb & Ellis) and Colliers Houston & Co. of New Jersey.  Collectively, the Cassidy Turley firms have over 360 shareholders.  Through its team of experienced service professionals, Cassidy Turley focuses on the needs of its clients, offering end-to-end services delivered across a full spectrum of commercial real estate including Capital Markets, Corporate Services (which supports more than 22,000 locations), Landlord and Tenant Representation and Property and Project Management. The firm also offers specialty services and industry focused practice groups as well as first class market research. In addition, Cassidy Turley is a leader in assisting clients to create more sustainable workplace environments.  Please visit www.cassidyturley.com for more information.

SOURCE Cassidy Turley