Our Team
We have made a significant investment in our people and have assembled a Best-in-Class team across all facets of real estate investing and execution of the business plan. Cobalt’s team members have led major organizations as property operators, investors or lenders with the most recognized real estate firms in the country.
Our team has fully integrated capabilities that include a dedicated core group of seven investment, leasing and asset management specialists committed exclusively to the Cobalt platform. Systems are in place to adequately handle the expected growth in our assets under management. Cobalt will also benefit from its affiliation with two of the leading retail property leasing broker networks as well as from a select group of proven third-party service providers, with which the team members have long-standing working relationships.
Senior Leadership
Our key team members have been owning principals and have deployed significant equity in numerous real estate investments on our own behalf. The collective experience of the team exceeds 200 million square feet leased and managed properties with the value of those managed investments exceeding $35 Billion. The team has also been responsible for the deployment of more than $5 Billion in new development and re-development capital into more than thirty high-profile projects.
Our Track Record Speaks for Itself…
Gerald Divaris is the Chairman of the Divaris Group of companies, that leases and manages in excess of 30 million square feet. The firm employs over 170 people in eight offices. He is also, the Chairman/ President of Realty Resources, the nationwide network of brokers specializing in retail real estate.
He has maintained an active involvement and serves on multiple Business and Philanthropic Boards. Gerald is an acclaimed real estate visionary who understands the connection and synergy between the real estate asset classes. He has been a consultant in both the pre- development and development phases of numerous major mixed-use projects nationally and internationally during his career.
He has more than 35 years of experience as a senior shopping center executive. He has served as the senior property management officer for three nationwide shopping center operating companies: First Union, May Centers and The O’Connor Group. While at O’Connor, he also directed the asset management team responsible for the firm’s three Opportunistic Funds that invested $4 billion across a broad spectrum of property types and real estate operating companies. Dick was a Managing Partner and retail property specialist at both Blackstone Real Estate Advisors and Brookfield Asset Management. At Brookfield, he was Chairman of an $800 million retail property fund.
Michael Divaris is the President of the Divaris Group of companies which includes Divaris Real Estate, Inc. and Divaris Property Management Corp. The Company currently employs over 170 personnel and has offices in eight cities on the East Coast of the United States. The Company is a full service brokerage firm with a portfolio in excess of 30 million square feet in management and leasing assignments. Michael Divaris heads up the Office Leasing and Investment Sales Divisions and is responsible for the firm’s Property Management Group.
Larry is the Chief Legal Counsel for Cobalt. His distinguished career includes 40 years as counsel with M&A, partnership formations, real estate transactions and business law expertise. His legal work has included representation for small privately held firms to large public company in complex acquisition and merger transactions. He has served a chair of the Long Term Care Service Group at Williams Mullen, where he is Senior Counsel for the firm.
Larry has been designated with the highest AV rating by Martindale-Hubbard and listed in both the State of VA and National “Best Lawyers in America.” He is a graduate of the University of VA and received his JD from Georgetown University Law Center. Larry has a long involvement in local community services including a former member of the Board of Directors od Old Dominion Entrepreneurial Center and a former Vice Chairman of the Virginia Beach Resort Area Advisory Commission
Our Executives have held senior positions with the most renowned real estate operating companies and private equity investors.
Blackstone
Brookfield Asset Management
DeBartolo Realty Corp
First Union Real Estate
May Department Stores
Madison Marquette
Starwood Capital
O’Connor Capital Partners
Dedicated Management Team
We have proven our capability to execute on complex business plans. The Cobalt senior management team averages more than twenty-five years in senior executive roles. Our collective experience in the retail property sector includes direct employment, many at the highest levels of the organization, from a wide cross-section of the most recognized retail property owners and managers and private equity investors. We have also maintained client relationships with a world-class group of institutional investors. Many of those engagements have remained in place for more than twenty years.
We Have Maintained Investor and Partner Relations with Many Well Known Firms and Associations
AEW
Alex Brown Realty
CALPERS
CALSTRS
Capital Guidance
DRA Advisors
INVESCO
JP Morgan Chase
ING Real Estate
Heitman Real Estate Advisors
HSBC
Oaktree Capital
Ohio Teachers Retirement
TIAA Cref
Prudential
UBS
Commonwealth of Virginia
New York Life
Mass Mutual
Northwestern Mutual
AIG Global
John Hancock
Inland Real Estate Group
Armada Hoffler REIT
Sun Life
GE
Unum
PREIT
Rouse
Key Support Personnel
