Piedmont Promotes C. Brent Smith to President and Chief Investment Officer

Atlanta, Nov. 13, 2018 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — Piedmont Office Realty Trust (NYSE: PDM) expanded today on its previous announcement that its Board of Directors has promoted Chief Investment Officer, C.Brent Smith, to President and Chief Investment Officer. Donald A. Miller, CFA, Chief Executive Officer, will continue to serve in that capacity.  Mr. Smith will report to Mr. Miller and work with him on corporate strategy and take a broader role across the Company’s platform.

Commenting on Mr. Smith’s promotion, Mr. Miller said “For several years, the Board of Directors and I have been working on a robust succession planning program across our entire leadership team.  Brent’s promotion is a direct result of that program and the recognition of many years of accomplishments on his part.  I’m very excited about the energy and vision he will bring to this role as we continue to focus on refining our strategy in ways that we believe will most benefit our stockholders.”

Mr. Smith, 43, will continue to serve as Chief Investment Officer, as well as Executive Vice President of Piedmont’s Northeast Region, for the foreseeable future. As Chief Investment Officer, Mr. Smith leads a team of experienced transactions professionals focused on capital market transactions across Piedmont’s entire portfolio, including Piedmont’s portfolio repositioning.  As head of the Company’s Northeast regional team, Mr. Smith oversees a team responsible for the Company’s approximately three million square foot Boston and New York/New Jersey portfolio.  Prior to joining Piedmont in 2012, Mr. Smith served as an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley in the Real Estate Investment Banking division advising a wide range of public and private real estate clients. He brings almost 15 years of corporate- and property-level real estate experience in both North America and Asia.

“Having served Piedmont over the last twelve years as both an advisor and a member of management, I have deep respect and appreciation for the entire Piedmont team,” Mr. Smith said.  “I’m looking forward to continuing to work with Don, the Board, and the rest of the leadership team as we leverage our best-in-class office platform and local Piedmont expertise to expand our presence across our eight core markets.”

                                                                                                
About Piedmont Office Realty Trust:                                                                                                       
Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located in eight major cities in the eastern half of the U.S. The almost $5 billion portfolio is comprised of approximately 17 million square feet of office space. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with local management offices in each of its major markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor’s (BBB) and Moody’s (Baa2). For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

Contact:      Stephanie Scurlock                                
Company:   Piedmont Office Realty Trust
Phone:        1 770 418 8800
Email:         [email protected]