Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at COUSINS PROPERTIES
Executive
About Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director at Cousins Properties (CUZ). Hicks joined Cousins in 2018 and held the role of Executive Vice President – Investments & Managing Director in 2021 before becoming EVP, CIO and Managing Director by 2023–2025 . Company performance context during her tenure: three-year TSR to 12/31/2024 was -19.44% vs FTSE Nareit Equity Office Index at -22.7% and FTSE Nareit Equity at -14.12% . FFO per share was $2.78 (2020), $2.75 (2021), $2.72 (2022), $2.62 (2023), and $2.69 (2024) .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Cousins Properties | Executive Vice President – Investments & Managing Director | 2021 | Role aligned with company strategy of value creation via acquisitions, selective development, and disciplined capital allocation |
| Cousins Properties | Executive Vice President, Chief Investment Officer and Managing Director | 2023–2025 | Senior leadership responsible for investment strategy under company focus on premier Sun Belt office portfolio; performance goals tied to FFO, leasing volume, NER, and corporate responsibility |
Fixed Compensation
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | $414,200 | $427,000 | $437,675 |
| Target Bonus (% of Base) | 95% | 95% | 95% |
Performance Compensation
| Component | Weighting (%) | Target | Actual 2024 Outcome | Payout (%) | Vesting/Payout Mechanics |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Funds From Operations (FFO) per share | 40 | Midpoint of 2024 FFO/share guidance; linear interpolation between threshold (50%), target (100%), max (200%) | Above target; key transactions and financing contributed to outperformance | 174% | Annual cash; components capped at 200%; overall capped at 150% |
| Leasing Activity Volume | 25 | Lease 1.5 million square feet of office space | Achieved 135% of goal; office portfolio leased percentage increased | 135% | Annual cash; caps as above |
| Net Effective Rent (NER) | 25 | Average NER for office leases to meet or exceed budget; weighted calculation across executed leases | Achieved 115%; net effective rent ~15% higher vs 2023 | 115% | Annual cash; caps as above |
| Corporate Responsibility (GRESB, Fitwel, Culture, Green Street Gov.) | 10 | Four sub-metrics aggregated; Fitwel split into two sub-components for 2025 planning, but 2024 goals maintained | GRESB 4-star: 100%; Fitwel coverage/certification rigor: 108%; Culture: 100%; Green Street governance above average: 100% | 100–108% by sub-metric | Annual cash; caps as above |
| Annual Incentive Award (Kennedy Hicks) | 2024 Target ($) | 2024 Actual Award ($) |
|---|---|---|
| Non-Equity Incentive | $415,791 | $591,671 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Ownership as of Feb 27, 2025 | Beneficial Shares | Restricted Stock | % of Class |
|---|---|---|---|
| Kennedy Hicks | 43,141 | 28,616 | <1% |
- No executive options outstanding/exercisable as of Feb 27, 2025, and no options were held or exercised by any NEO in 2024 .
- Prohibitions on hedging and pledging and minimum stock ownership guidelines apply to executive officers; company maintains a clawback policy (see below) .
Stock Vested (Realized) and Outstanding Awards
| Metric | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Shares Acquired on Vesting (total) | 20,956 | 21,520 |
| Value Realized on Vesting ($) | $553,903 | $532,298 |
| Breakdown: Restricted Stock (shares) | 5,089 | 8,200 |
| Breakdown: Market & Performance RSUs (shares) | 8,149 | 13,320 |
| Dividend Equivalent Units (DEUs) (cash or shares) | 2019 service RSUs cash-settled; included in values | Cash-settled DEUs $53,443 |
| Outstanding Equity at FY-end | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Unvested Shares/Units (not vested) | 31,750 | 41,422 |
| Market Value of Unvested Shares/Units ($) | $773,102 | $1,269,139 |
| Unearned RSUs (Market + Performance) | 27,685 | 41,856 |
| Market Value of Unearned RSUs ($) | $674,130 | $1,282,468 |
- 2022 Market and Performance RSUs earned at a weighted 166.3% and settled on January 31, 2025 (Hicks: 13,070 TSR RSUs; 2,450 FFO RSUs; DEUs $63,957; total amount earned $537,783) .
Performance Compensation (Long-Term Incentives)
| LTI Grants | 2021 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Target LTI Award Value ($) | $500,000 | $800,000 | $925,000 |
| Grant Date | 02/01/2021 | 02/16/2023 | 02/16/2024 |
| Restricted Stock (shares) | 6,144 | 12,232 | 15,671 |
| Market RSUs (TSR) (units) | 6,452 | 12,844 | 16,455 |
| Performance RSUs (FFO) (units) | 2,765 | 5,505 | 7,052 |
- LTI mix: 42% Market RSUs (relative TSR vs FTSE Nareit Equity Office Index), 18% Performance RSUs (aggregate FFO over 3 years), 40% time-vested restricted stock; RSUs cliff vest after 3-year performance period; restricted stock vests ratably over 3 years .
Employment Terms
| Scenario (as of 12/31/2024) | Cash | Accelerated Vesting: Restricted Stock | Accelerated Vesting: Market & Performance RSUs | Health & Welfare | Total |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Involuntary or Good Reason Termination following Change in Control (double-trigger) | $1,615,223 | $793,607 | $1,568,523 | $17,928 | $3,995,281 |
| Termination without cause (not in connection with change in control) | $85,478 | — | — | — | $85,478 |
| Death | — | $793,607 | $1,568,523 | — | $2,362,130 |
- Change-in-control agreement terms: double-trigger; lump sum paid six months and one day after termination; for Hicks, 2.00x sum of annual base salary plus average cash bonus over prior three years; health benefits for two years; no excise tax gross-ups; “best net” provisions apply .
- “Cause” includes felony, fraud, misappropriation, embezzlement, or material malfeasance/gross negligence to company’s material detriment .
Governance, Policies, and Peer Benchmarking
- Clawback policy adopted in 2023: recoup erroneously awarded incentive-based compensation for current and former executive officers following required accounting restatement; 3-year lookback; applies to both cash and equity incentives .
- Hedging/pledging prohibited; executives subject to minimum stock ownership guidelines .
- Compensation Committee engaged FPC to assist with peer group methodology, benchmarking, compensation objectives, and components; median used as initial reference with adjustments for role performance and retention; majority of total direct compensation opportunity delivered via equity-based LTI .
- Say-on-pay approval for 2023 compensation was 90.83% at the 2024 annual meeting .
Performance & Track Record (Company Context)
| Metric | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Cousins TSR ($ value of $100 initial investment) | $85.24 | $105.10 | $68.67 | $70.05 | $92.87 |
| Peer Group TSR ($ value of $100) | $81.56 | $99.51 | $62.07 | $63.34 | $76.95 |
| FFO per Share ($) | $2.78 | $2.75 | $2.72 | $2.62 | $2.69 |
Investment Implications
- High alignment via equity-heavy pay mix: 78% of other NEO compensation “at risk” and multi-year LTI split among relative TSR and FFO PSUs and time-vested RS; Hicks’ outstanding and unearned RSUs and restricted stock are sizable, supporting retention but creating predictable vesting supply around settlement dates (e.g., 2022 RSUs settled Jan 31, 2025) .
- Annual incentive metrics are operationally tied (FFO, leasing volume, net effective rent, ESG governance metrics), with 2024 payout at 142.3% of target; indicates management execution momentum despite sector headwinds, though three-year TSR remained negative through 2024, warranting scrutiny of pay-for-performance balance over time .
- Change-in-control economics are moderate (2x salary+avg bonus; double-trigger; no gross-ups), and hedging/pledging prohibitions plus clawback policy reduce governance risk; options are not a factor (none outstanding), lowering option-exercise selling pressure .
- Trading signals: watch for RSU and restricted stock vesting windows that may increase sellable float; 2024/2025 vestings for Hicks totaled 21,520 shares realized in 2024 and 15,520 RSUs earned/settled in early 2025, suggesting potential periodic liquidity events around February and late January vesting dates .