Buzz Cooper
About Buzz Cooper
Arthur S. “Buzz” Cooper, age 68, is President of Gladstone Commercial (ticker: GOOD) and has been with the company since its IPO in 2003; he became President in June 2022 after serving as CIO (Apr 2021–Jan 2022), EVP (Oct 2020–Apr 2021), and Senior Managing Director (Jul 2013–Oct 2020) . He is employed by the Adviser (The Gladstone Companies) rather than directly by the company and serves at the pleasure of the Board; the company does not directly compensate executive officers and has no equity incentive plans . Education: Washington and Lee University; professional membership: NAIOP . Recent operational context under his leadership includes 100% rent collections, $73.25M of industrial acquisitions, 98.4% portfolio occupancy, and 65% industrial concentration in Q1 2025, alongside active acquisition pipelines and disciplined underwriting discussed on recent calls .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Gladstone Commercial | President | Jun 2022–present | Leads portfolio strategy and acquisitions; public call leadership and underwriting discipline . |
| Gladstone Commercial | Chief Investment Officer | Apr 2021–Jan 2022 | Led investment function (credit, returns, underwriting) . |
| Gladstone Commercial | Executive Vice President | Oct 2020–Apr 2021 | Senior executive oversight of transactions . |
| Gladstone Commercial | Senior Managing Director | Jul 2013–Oct 2020 | Senior originations/asset management leadership . |
| Gladstone Commercial | Company executive since IPO | 2003–present | Foundational continuity since public listing . |
External Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|
| The Gladstone Companies (Adviser) | Executive Managing Director | Not disclosed | Employed by Adviser; aligns executive services with Advisory Agreement . |
| NAIOP | Member | Not disclosed | Industry association membership . |
Fixed Compensation
| Item | 2024 | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Company direct compensation to executive officers | None | Company has no employees and no equity incentive plans; officers are employed and compensated by Adviser/Administrator . |
| Advisory Agreement fees (paid to Adviser) | ~$8.3M | Fees incurred under Advisory Agreement in FY 2024 . |
| Administration Agreement fees (paid to Administrator) | ~$2.6M | Fees incurred under Administration Agreement in FY 2024 . |
Performance Compensation
| Element | Structure | Target/Hurdle | Payout Formula | Modifiers/Cap | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Base Management Fee (Adviser) | 0.425% annual of prior quarter “Gross Tangible Real Estate” | N/A | Quarterly in arrears | N/A | Based on portfolio’s original acquisition price plus capital improvements . |
| Incentive Fee (Adviser) | Core FFO-based | 2.0% quarterly (8% annualized) of adjusted total stockholders’ equity | 15% of pre-incentive fee Core FFO above hurdle | Quarterly cap: cannot exceed by 15% the average quarterly incentive fee paid for previous 4 quarters (excluding quarters with no fee) | Waivable by Adviser; waived entirely in 2023 ($4.6M); unconditional voluntary waiver ~$2.3M in 2024 . |
Important: Buzz Cooper is compensated by the Adviser; the proxy does not disclose his individual salary/bonus/equity awards. The compensation levers that tie management economics to performance at GOOD operate via the Advisory Agreement’s Core FFO hurdle and incentive mechanics and the Adviser’s voluntary waivers, not via company equity plans or executive grants .
Performance & Track Record
| Metric | Q1 2025 | Q2 2025 |
|---|---|---|
| Cash-based rent collections (%) | 100% | 100% (affirmed no meaningful tenant impact) . |
| Industrial acquisitions ($) | $73.25M (355,778 sq ft) | Two industrial facilities acquired quarter-to-date: just under $79M (cumulative referenced in summary) . |
| Portfolio occupancy (%) | 98.4% (as of 3/31) | Not disclosed. |
| Industrial concentration (% of annualized straight-line rent) | 65% | Management targeting ≥70% near-term . |
| Dispositions | 1 office sold for $377k gain; prior sales-type lease $3.9M profit recognized | 1 office sold post-Q1 with $377k gain; prior sales-type lease $3.9M profit (reiterated); Q2 commentary confirms . |
| Acquisition pipeline | ~$70M “teed up” to close into Q2; backlog ~$140M (~10 assets) | ~6 LOIs; ~20 transactions under review; one LOI ≈ $50M expected . |
| Leasing spreads/term | Preparing for 2026–2027 expirations; WALT expected to move back >7 years via sale-leaseback closings | Recent lease renewal ~2.5% uptick; working on 10+ year lease with ~2% annual uptick; confidence in renewals for 2026–2027 cohorts . |
| Cap rate environment | Sector tailwinds via onshoring/reshoring; disciplined underwriting | Average cap rates ~8.5%+; do not expect 9% this year . |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Status |
|---|---|
| Beneficial ownership (Buzz Cooper) | Not listed among beneficial owners or named executive officers in the 2025 proxy’s ownership table . |
| Shares pledged (Buzz Cooper) | Not disclosed; no pledge noted for Cooper. A director (Michela A. English) has 1,761 shares pledged under a margin account . |
| Insider trading/hedging policy | Prohibits short sales and trading in options/warrants/convertibles/appreciation rights or other derivatives on fund securities; requires pre-clearance for transactions . |
| Stock ownership guidelines | Not disclosed in the proxy for executives . |
Employment Terms
| Term | Disclosure |
|---|---|
| Employment start date (President) | Jun 2022 . |
| Employer | Employed by the Adviser (The Gladstone Companies) as Executive Managing Director . |
| Role at Company | Serves at the pleasure of the Board as an executive officer . |
| Contract term length/expiration | Not disclosed in proxy . |
| Severance provisions | Not disclosed; the Company does not directly compensate executives . |
| Change-of-control economics | Not disclosed for executives; Company-level Advisory Agreement remains the primary economic linkage . |
| Clawback provisions | Not disclosed; Insider Trading Policy addresses trading controls, not compensation clawbacks . |
| Non-compete / non-solicit | Not disclosed . |
| Garden leave / consulting | Not disclosed . |
Investment Implications
- Pay-for-performance alignment operates at the company–Adviser level through a Core FFO hurdle and incentive fee, with recent voluntary waivers ($4.6M in 2023; $2.3M in 2024) signaling flexibility to support distributions—positive for shareholder alignment but leaves individual executive pay opaque given executives are paid by the Adviser .
- Ownership alignment for Cooper appears limited based on proxy disclosure (not listed as a beneficial owner), reducing direct “skin-in-the-game” visibility; however, hedging and derivative restrictions plus pre-clearance requirements mitigate misalignment risks from insider trading .
- Execution track record highlights disciplined underwriting, active acquisition pipelines, 100% rent collections, and focus on industrial assets with long-term leases and modest positive leasing economics (~2–2.5%); cap rates averaging ~8.5%+ suggest potential for accretive acquisitions if financing discipline holds .
- Retention risk appears moderate given Cooper’s two-decade tenure and leadership continuity since 2003, but the absence of disclosed personal employment terms (severance, change-of-control, non-compete) and Adviser-based compensation structure make individual incentive alignment and change-of-control economics less transparent to equity investors .
Related party dynamics: GOOD pays material fees to the Adviser and Administrator and modest mortgage financing fees to Gladstone Securities; governance committees oversee these arrangements, but investors should monitor fee levels and incentive fee waivers as key levers influencing distribution policy and growth pace .