22-Year Real Estate Veteran to Oversee Operations for National
Portfolio of Commercial Properties
LOS ANGELES--(Business Wire)--BentleyForbes, a leading national real estate investment giant
headquartered in Los Angeles, announced today that Mr. Robert "Bert"
Dezzutti has joined the company as Chief Operating Officer. Mr.
Dezzutti will be responsible for all facets of the firm's operational
procedures and the day-to-day management of its substantial national
portfolio of Class A office, corporate and luxury hospitality
properties.
"Bert Dezzutti is a tremendous addition to our executive
committee," said C. Frederick Wehba, chairman and co-founder of
BentleyForbes. "He is a well respected executive with a documented
track record of success in the commercial real estate industry. His
talent and experience will play a significant role in helping to shape
our future success as we continue to expand our nationwide portfolio
of trophy office, luxury hospitality and corporate real estate."
Most recently, Mr. Dezzutti served as senior managing director at
Cushman & Wakefield (CW), where he was responsible for the firm's
nationwide third party service platform, overseeing leasing and
property management services for private, corporate and institutional
clients. Prior to joining CW, Mr. Dezzutti was a senior vice president
for Equity Office Properties Trust, where he oversaw operations,
leasing and property management for a 17 million-square-foot portfolio
of Class A office buildings. Mr. Dezzutti's 22-year career also
includes executive tenures with other noted real estate firms such as
Transwestern, Koll and CB Commercial.
"We specifically pursued Mr. Dezzutti because of his extensive
experience in the institutional real estate arena where he
successfully met and exceeded the operational demands of large-scale
real estate portfolios as a senior leader with both Equity Office and
Cushman & Wakefield," said C. Frederick Wehba II, vice chairman and
co-founder of BentleyForbes. "We are pleased that he will be bringing
this experience to our company and its growing portfolio of trophy
assets."
Mr. Dezzutti said his immediate goal will be to further strengthen
and streamline the company's current infrastructure to prepare for
continued growth.
"This is a tremendous opportunity to play a vital role in the
success of one of the nation's fastest growing real estate investment
companies," said Mr. Dezzutti. "The quality of the properties in the
BentleyForbes portfolio demands an emphasis on best-of-class service
and management."
BentleyForbes, founded by the Wehba family in 1993, specializes in
the acquisition, ownership and management of trophy Class A office
buildings, luxury hotel properties and high-quality industrial and
retail properties in major markets throughout the United States.
"During the past three years, BentleyForbes has devoted
substantial resources to its operating platform infrastructure," said
David W. Cobb, president and CEO of BentleyForbes. "In connection with
this infrastructure growth, the company has successfully completed the
transition from external property management to in-house property
management. We are now focused on additional infrastructure/operations
growth, including bringing property leasing in-house, and Bert brings
with him the extensive experience we need to continue such growth."
Trophy assets in the BentleyForbes portfolio include: The Four
Seasons Resort and Club Dallas, which sits on 400-acres and features
431 guest rooms, a 176,000-square-foot sports club, and two recently
remodeled, PGA TOUR stature golf courses; Prudential Plaza, a two
skyscraper, integrated office complex in Chicago where office tower
Prudential Two is the 10th tallest office tower in the United States;
Bank of America Plaza in Atlanta, the sixth tallest office tower in
the United States; Las Olas Centre, a 470,000 square-foot office
complex in Fort Lauderdale, Fla.; The Watergate Office Building and
Retail Arcade comprising 260,000 square feet in Washington, D.C.; and
three Dallas office properties: Preston Commons, a three building
campus offering 303,000 square feet of Class A office space, Sterling
Plaza, a 261,000-square-foot office tower, and Park Center, a
250,000-square-foot mid-rise office building.
About BentleyForbes:
Founded in 1993, privately-held BentleyForbes is a national real
estate investment firm focused on the acquisition, ownership and
management of trophy Class A office buildings, luxury resort and hotel
properties and select high-quality industrial and retail facilities.
Currently, the Company owns and operates a portfolio of assets valued
in excess of $2.7 billion that comprises approximately 7.9 million
square feet in total consideration, located in diverse markets across
the United States. Typical investments for the Company range from $30
million to more than $500 million, emphasizing multi-tenanted and
single-tenanted Class A office properties in top CBD or regional
submarket locations and best-of-class luxury resort and hotel
properties in major MSA or resort destination markets. The Company is
recognized for its expertise in the acquisition and management of
single tenant and/or sale-leaseback property investments, and
continues to invest in assets of this type on a select basis. From its
Los Angeles headquarters, BentleyForbes employs a roster of real
estate experts well versed in commercial real estate investment,
finance, law, accounting and asset management. The Company also has
regional offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Dallas, Ft. Lauderdale and
Washington D.C. For more information, please logon to
www.bentleyforbes.com.
Macy & Associates
Chris Egger, 310-821-5300
cegger@macyinc.com
Copyright Business Wire 2008
