C. Frederick Wehba and BentleyForbes appoint new president
David W. Cobb to help lead the company
C. Frederick Wehba and New BentleyForbes President
As BentleyForbes continues to experience dramatic fiscal growth and market expansion, the company chooses a new president to maintain the charge towards success.
Chairman and co founder C. Frederick Wehba announced the placement of David W. Cobb as the new President and CEO of BentleyForbes. Cobb is a major figure in the commercial real estate world, moving to BentleyForbes after work as chief investment officer of Commercial Net Lease Realty.
C. Frederick Wehba believes Cobb will add new dimensions to a company that is hungry for growth and ready to explore new frontiers of the commercial real estate investment world. The new presidential hire coincides with other prominent new employees, hired in an effort to beef up the level of skill and desire in the BentleyForbes business plan, even though the company has already experienced widespread success in commercial real estate markets.
The experience of Cobb will help keep BentleyForbes on top of its market competition by contributing invaluable information and knowledge to the company, as BentleyForbes works hard to maintain their notoriety with big earnings and important property grabs.
Cobb’s appointment corresponds with the formation of a corporate executive committee which will work with the BentleyForbes president to create new investment strategies that build upon the company portfolio.
C. Frederick Wehba and other family members will lead the executive committee, ensuring that Cobb will lead the company in the right direction.
Previous investment work by Cobb includes influential positions at National Capital Holdings, Inc., and Realty Logix, Inc. Cobb became an important leader and business visionary for both companies and Wehba expects that tradition to continue at BentleyForbes.
The hire of an aggressive and well known market leader like Cobb, compiled with an impressive string of commercial real estate acquisitions, exemplifies BentleyForbes fortitude in the high-end real estate market, and should signal danger to market competitors.
This article from the business wire highlights Cobb’s history, as well as providing insight into C. Frederick Wehba’s decision to take him on as the new president.
BentleyForbes Appoints David W. Cobb President and CEO of Rapidly Expanding National Real Estate Investment Firm
Former Chief Investment Officer of Commercial Net Lease Realty
Joins Firm to Oversee Growing Investment Portfolio Targeting $750
Million in New Acquisitions before Year-End 2004
David W. Cobb, a well-known force in the commercial real estate industry, has been named President and CEO of BentleyForbes effective today, announced C. Frederick Wehba, chairman and co-founder of the national commercial real estate investment firm.
"We are committed to building a team of seasoned investment professionals to sharpen our focus on acquiring Class A commercial real estate properties across the nation," said Wehba. "David's demonstrated success with some of the industry's most widely recognized companies will provide BentleyForbes with a dynamic leader to implement our strategic growth program, and provide a depth of experience finely-tuned at the institutional level. We also expect to add an experienced executive vice president in the near future to further augment our leadership team, and are currently reviewing candidates with David to fill this position."
With the announcement of Mr. Cobb's appointment, BentleyForbes also announced the formation of its corporate executive committee. This committee will work directly with the newly appointed president in developing strategies and investment programs to grow the company's portfolio of commercial real estate properties.
The executive committee will be led by members of the Wehba family, founders of BentleyForbes, and include the following senior members: C. Frederick Wehba II, who will transition from his current position of president and CEO to the position of vice chairman; Chad Wehba, who will also assume the title of vice chairman; C. Frederick Wehba, who will remain in his position as chairman; and David Cobb, who is joining the firm as president & CEO.
"My initial focus at BentleyForbes will be to lead the implementation of a disciplined investment program developed by the executive committee," said Cobb. "Our target goals are to foster and grow key institutional finance relationships, streamline our ability to identify and close on acquisition targets and create an operational platform that will support our growth. We are looking for these efforts to dramatically expand the company's portfolio of owned properties during the next three years. This is an exciting progression in the company's history and we plan to hit the ground running with an aggressive acquisition program."
Mr. Cobb joins BentleyForbes from his most recent position as chief investment officer for Commercial Net Lease Realty, Inc. (CNLR), one of the nation's leading publicly traded owners and operators of net lease properties across the United States. During this time, he was responsible for directing the overall investment strategy of CNLR while overseeing the acquisitions and dispositions units.
Over the course of his career, Mr. Cobb has served in many executive capacities at several commercial real estate and investment firms. Other past experience includes his tenure as chairman and chief executive officer of RealtyLogix, Inc., where he developed new web-enhanced products for financial institutions involved in commercial loan origination and commercial real estate portfolio risk management. Mr. Cobb also served as chairman and chief executive officer of National Capital Holdings, Inc., senior vice president for Raymond James & Associates, senior vice president for Donaldson, Lufkin and Jenrette, and regional manager for Drexel Burnham Lambert.
Mr. Cobb is currently a member of the Association for Financial Professionals (AFP), the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC) and CoreNet Global. He graduated from Armstrong State College with a bachelor's in accounting and completed the Graduate School of Banking at Indiana University.
Over the course of the past six months, BentleyForbes has been extremely active in acquiring targeted commercial real estate assets, including: the $134 million acquisition of more than 700,000 square feet of Class A office space in eight buildings located in Sacramento, Calif.; the $42 million acquisition of a 205,000 square foot Class A corporate headquarters building in Baltimore County, MD; and the $67 million acquisition of approximately 1.5 million square feet of warehouse space located in five buildings located in Massachusetts, Georgia, North Carolina and Illinois. The firm currently is projecting the close of $750 million in commercial property acquisitions before year-end 2004, with a national emphasis on net lease, sale-leaseback and select multi-tenant properties in the Class A office and industrial categories.
About BENTLEYFORBES
Based in Los Angeles, BENTLEYFORBES is one of the nation's fastest-growing commercial real estate investment firms. The firm is exclusively focused on identifying long-term value in Class "A" real estate. Currently, the firm's portfolio is valued in excess of $1 billion, including properties ranging from office buildings, shopping centers and industrial properties, to light manufacturing facilities and warehouses encompassing approximately 7.5 million square feet throughout the United States. For further information regarding BENTLEYFORBES, its holdings and investment strategies, please log on to www.BentleyForbes.com.
-The Business Wire