Contact BARRY:
C: 678-296-8549
F: 404 601-4651
BARRY@SSGREALTYPARTNERS.COM
PROFESSIONAL PROFILE
Career Summary & Current Responsibilities
Since 1971, when he was hired to head up the formation of John Portman’s original real estate development company, Portman Properties, where he was the senior executive for over 13 years, Mr. Branch has successfully led the development, financing, marketing and management of over $12 Billion of commercial real estate projects throughout the United States and abroad. In addition, he served 18 years on the Board of Directors of two publicly traded REITS (Duke Realty Corporation and Weeks Corporation).
In 2015, Barry and his brother David, established SSG Strategic Land Partners, LLC, a real estate investment firm which is currently developing the 154 acre Vineyard Park mixed-use project with Pope & Land. He is now merging the real estate finance practice of his firm, Branch Real Estate Advisors, to create SSG’s Capital Markets Group.
Mr Branch has been the Robert H. Ledbetter, Sr. Professor of the Practice of Real Estate Development at the Georgia Tech Scheller College of Business since 2012, where he has led the ongoing development of an innovative, program in real estate development and finance for graduate and undergraduate students.
Duke Realty Corporation (NYSE:DRE) - From 1998 to 2012, he served as a Director and Member of the Audit Committee, Finance Committee, and Executive Compensation Committee for the largest publicly traded industrial and office REIT in the U.S.
Weeks Corporation (NYSE:WKS) - From 1994 to 1998, he served as a Director and Chairman of the Executive Compensation Committee for this $1.6 billion publicly traded REIT prior to its merger with Duke Realty Corporation.
Dutch Institutional Holding Company (DIHC) - From 1991 until 1998, Mr. Branch served as President and CEO of DIHC, the U.S. real estate investment affiliate of Pensioenfond PGGM, the second largest pension fund in the Netherlands. It owned a $1.3 billion portfolio of premier office properties in Washington D.C.; Boston; Atlanta and Charlotte. Mr Branch successfully guided DIHC through the real estate recession in the early 1990s and positioned the company for its merger in 1998 with Cornerstone Realty, a New York-based public REIT.
Portman Properties - As the senior executive of Portman Properties from 1971 until 1984, Mr. Branch was a limited partner in a number of its major projects and was responsible for overseeing the successful financing and development of a number of significant projects in the United States and Europe. In addition, he guided the Portman organization through the severe real estate recession between 1974 and 1976 and was responsible for the highly successful $880 million recapitalization of all of the Portman companies and projects.
Mr. Branch was Chairman of the Association of Foreign Investors in Real Estate (AFIRE) and Vice Chairman of the Real Estate Roundtable (previously the National Realty Committee). He was also founding Chairman of the Society of International Business Fellows and a member of its Board of Directors and was a member of the Davidson College Board of Visitors.
He has been a speaker and lecturer at numerous college, university and real estate industry functions, including: The American Hotel Association, The Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors, Davidson College, the Duke University School of Law, the Goizueta Directors Institute at Emory University, and the Georgia State University Graduate School of Business.
Education: Davidson College, BA and Duke University Law School, Juris Doctor.