Dallas' Changing of the Guard Continues

Stephen B. Platt, president of Wilcox Development Services Inc., is taking "an extended period of time off from the real estate industry," a Wilcox contact tells GlobeSt.com. Platt quietly notified the ranks yesterday as he bid goodbye to his teammates and said hello to an R&R agenda reportedly filled with travel plans. Platt is not giving interviews.

Bill Cawley, president of Cawley Wilcox Cos., is traveling and could not be reached for comment about his replacement plans or the transition. Platt's main teammates are Todd Ashbrook, senior vice president of development, and Terry Lowrey, senior vice president of construction.

Platt joined Wilcox Development in 1994 as principal and COO. In the last 30 years, he's weathered four major development cycles. With the current cycle, "development opportunities are going to be limited for the next few years," he said in a brief prepared statement.

As Platt exits the industry, Rich Uzelac is one of the first hires for a major initiative by Studley's National Accounts Group. Today, Uzelac will be huddling in Dallas with Mark A. Jaccom, Studley's executive vice president and co-branch manager in New York City. The two are gaming out plans for a team with a hard focus on securing national accounts. Uzelac is one of two senior managing directors in Studley's Dallas office.

The 18-year professional has spent the past two years as a senior vice president of corporate advisory services for Trammell Crow's Dallas team. He was one of a half dozen in the office with that title. "He's a good guy," says Tony Long, managing director of Trammell Crow's Dallas office. "I wish him well."

While at Trammell Crow, Uzelac worked such national accounts as Chevron, Shell, Ryder and Equiva. He tells GlobeSt.com that he did not take any clients with him. but it's not going to be a problem with Jaccom at the helm. He is one of Studley's stars, armed with a client roster of Fortune 500 corporations from practically every industry.

The Studley plan is to "be a pure primary focus on national business," Uzelac says. "We are going after national clients with guys like myself who are dedicated to national accounts."