ATLANTA—Patricia Morris is taking the chief real estate officer reigns at Wells Real Estate Funds. On Aug. 21, she will replace Don Henry, who has decided to pursue new opportunities in the real estate sector after 10 years with the firm.
“While we are sad to lose a person of the caliber of Don Henry, Patti is highly qualified and absolutely the best person to step into Don’s role,” Robert Kennedy, president of Wells Real Estate Funds, tells GlobeSt.com. “Her focus will be to continue to build an institutional-quality portfolio for Wells Core REIT.”
Morris is stepping up from her current role managing director of asset management at Wells. She oversees the asset management team responsible for Wells Core Office Income REIT and other real estate programs.
“Our real estate group has always taken an inclusive team approach, so I see this as a seamless transition,” Morris tells GlobeSt.com. “I’ll be working with the same team of talented professionals and we’ll continue in the same manner. We’ve got a well-defined investment strategy, acquiring core assets and managing the assets.”
Morris has more than 25 years of commercial real estate experience. Prior to joining Wells in 2003, she served as director of asset management and portfolio manager for Prudential Real Estate Investors. She also served as an asset manager for The Travelers Realty Investment Company.
Morris sees opportunity and challenges in the current landscape. She believes the market is in the early stages of a recovery. From Morris' perspective, there is gradual improvement in the fundamentals—and she expects that to benefit Wells as its leases roll in future years during the life of the portfolio.
“We are keeping a watchful eye on economic and political events, not only globally but here at home as well,” Morris says. “We invest in long-term leases. That acts as what I would call a shock absorber when we have some economic impact.”
Morris is a member of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Managers and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties. Wells Real Estate Funds, a sponsor of Wells Core Office Income REIT, is a national real estate investment company founded in suburban Atlanta in 1984. In its history, Wells-sponsored programs, current and closed, have invested more than $11 billion in real estate for nearly 300,000 investors.
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