Atlanta Galleria Now

Tenant Times: June 18, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Network Expansion. Atlanta Galleria tenant Digital Insurance, an employee benefits company, has acquired Fallick Insurance of Mountain View, Calif. Fallick joins the Los Altos/Silicon Valley office of Digital Benefit Advisors, a division of Digital Insurance, according to a Digital Insurance press release.

“Fallick Insurance is an excellent addition to our network,” said Mike Sullivan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer at Digital Insurance, in the release. “For the past 10 years, [Fallick Insurance has] taken a strategic approach to business and provided employee benefits solutions to about 175 small and medium-sized companies throughout the Bay Area. With Digital’s communications platform and health care reform expertise, their clients will now receive even greater value.”

Partnership Takes Off. Atlanta Galleria tenant Travelport, a services provider for the global travel industry, recently announced the early renewal of its long-term content agreement with WestJet, a Canadian airline.

Through the agreement, WestJet’s full flight, fare and services information will be available to Travelport-connected travel agents. The information will be available through Travelport’s web-based applications.

Stepping Up. Atlanta Galleria tenant CSE, a marketing, advertising and production agency, is producing a new reality television series called “Step Wars,” which is set in the world of step competitions at the country’s top historically black colleges and universities. The unscripted series will air on Bounce TV, a broadcast television network for African Americans.

CSE is also in negotiations to produce Bounce TV’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference football package, according to a CSE press release.

Good Publicity. Atlanta Galleria tenant QuantiSense, a provider of business intelligence software for retailers, was referenced for its analytics tools in a recent article on CFO.com. The article featured Destination XL’s CFO Dennis Hernreich and mentioned the difference QuantiSense made in streamlining Destination XL’s retail operations.

To read the article, click here.

Tenant Times: May 29, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Four Years of Distinction and Running. For the fourth consecutive year, Atlanta Galleria tenant Batson-Cook Construction has been named one of the nation’s top healthcare general contractors by Modern Healthcare magazine.

Batson-Cook ranked 12th in the magazine’s 2013 Construction and Design Survey, which ranks general contractors on the contract value of the healthcare construction it completed during the preceding year. The firm has been rising in the rankings since placing 27th in 2010.

The general contracting and construction management firm delivered more than $190 million in healthcare facilities last year. “Batson-Cook Construction is honored to be named among the ‘best of the best’ nationally for our healthcare construction,” said Randy Hall, CEO of Batson-Cook, in a press release. “I am proud of our team, which brings experience and innovation to the pre-construction, construction management and general contracting phases of these complicated projects.”

New Marketing Tool. Digital marketing technology provider Silverpop has launched Universal Behaviors, a program that allows marketers to craft highly individualized marketing campaigns by accounting for an individual consumer’s real-time online behavior.

“Marketers are being bombarded with a tremendous amount of data about their customers, which often seems like noise,” said Bryan Brown, director of product strategy for Silverpop, in a press release. “Universal Behaviors removes any remaining barriers to the vision of delivering true one-to-one communications to limitless numbers of customers.”

Award-Winning Executive. John Short, senior vice president of human resources at Digital Insurance, has received the Pegasus Award, a prestigious distinction awarded by the Society for Human Resources Management, for his outstanding individual achievement.

Short, who oversees a workforce of more than 350 employees located throughout the United States, beat out HR representatives from more than 50 Atlanta companies.

“Digital Insurance offers an environment that encourages innovative ideas and stimulates professional growth,” Short said in a press release.

National Recognition. Fresenius Healthcare has been recognized for its outstanding health care case management with two “Case In Point” Platinum Awards from Dorland Health, which publishes Case In Point magazine.

The healthcare company’s UltraCare Renal Case Management Nurse Call Center also received an award from the magazine naming it the nation’s best managed care nurse call center.

Tenant Times: May 14, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Excellence in Marketing. CSE, an independent marketing agency, took home two Silver Ex Awards during recent ceremonies in Chicago. The awards honor event marketing.

CSE received the awards for the The Essence Music Festival Presented by Coca-Cola, which won in the Best Multicultural Event Campaign category, and The Dew Tour Events for Pantech Wireless, which was honored in the Best Activation of a Sports Sponsorship category.

This year’s Ex Awards drew more than 800 entries from around the globe.

“All of this enormous recognition is a testament to the ingenuity, vision and passion of the talented team we've assembled,” said Lonnie Cooper, founder and CEO of CSE, in a press release. “I could not be more proud of our agency and the direction in which we are headed.”

In the Air with Al-Futtaim. Atlanta Galleria tenant Travelport, a provider of transaction-processing software for the global travel industry, has announced a three-year renewal of its partnership with Al-Futtaim Travel, a corporate- and leisure-travel management firm.

Travelport will continue to supply software and consulting services to Al-Futtaim and will also help the firm strengthen its online business.

“Supporting travel providers such as Al-Futtaim Travel in this fast-changing and dynamic industry is a key objective for Travelport,” said Rabih Saab, president and managing director, Middle East and Africa, for Travelport, in a press release. “Recent research, co-sponsored by Travelport, showed that online sales are expected to reach $15.8 billion [in the Middle East] by 2014. We are therefore working very closely with our customers, such as Al-Futtaim Travel, to share our online expertise and industry-leading technology solutions to enable them to make the most of this opportunity now and in the future.”

Promotions to Partner. The Shopping Center Group, a retail-only real estate advisory firm, has promoted nine of its employees to partner.

See the recent article on CoStar’s website for a full list of the promoted employees and their new roles.

Tenant Times: May 1, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Honored Once Again. Atlanta Galleria tenant WellPoint Inc., which was recently named one of the top U.S. companies for Latinas to work, just received another honor for diversity in the workplace. 

DiversityInc ranked WellPoint No. 40 on its Top 50 Companies for Diversity list, marking WellPoint’s sixth consecutive year on the list.

The company also placed on DiversityInc’s top 10 lists of Companies for Supplier Diversity, Companies for Veterans and Companies for People with Disabilities, according to a press release.

Calling All Real Estate Superstars. Urban Land Institute Atlanta’s Center for Leadership is looking for emerging leaders in Atlanta’s real estate and land-use industries for its Class of 2014. 

Through an application process, members are chosen for a nine-month course on the real estate industry, life management and leadership. 

To apply, visit ULI Atlanta’s website. 

Record-Breaking Sales. QuantiSense, a software vendor for the retail industry, announced record sales for the fourth quarter of 2012, almost double the sales the company closed in fourth-quarter 2011.

QuantiSense is seeing increased demand for its business-intelligence and data-warehouse software. At the end of last year, Hibbett Sports, Citi Trends and Payless Shoe Source all became new customers. 

Award-Winning Team. ITAGroup’s creative team was just awarded with a number of recognitions during this year’s MarCom Awards, an international competition honoring individuals and firms involved in the concept, writing and design of print, visual, audio and web materials and programs.

ITAGroup’s Communication Solutions Group added 20 MarCom Awards this year to its collection.

Tenant Times: April 9, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Nice Expansion (No Pun Intended). Atlanta Galleria tenant Marriott International is continuing the expansion of its joint venture with AC Hotels by opening the AC Hotel Nice on the French Riviera and the AC Hotel Sant Cugat in Catalonia, Barcelona, according to a press release.

The 143-room AC Hotel Nice boasts views of the Mediterranean Sea and the Promenade des Anglais. The 152-room AC Hotel Sant Cugat is located in the business area of Sant Joan with convenient connections to central Barcelona.

Truly Multichannel. Atlanta Galleria tenant Silverpop, a digital marketing technology provider, has added new mobile messaging capabilities to its services through a partnership with Veti, a provider of mobile marketing and advertising technologies.

The partnership will give Silverpop clients access to an array of text message-based marketing technologies. For complete details, read this press release from Silverpop and Veti.

Westin Goes West. Starwood Hotels just introduced its Westin brand to Sacramento, Calif., opening the Westin Sacramento on April 4. The property was formerly known as Le Rivage Hotel and underwent a $3.2 million renovation prior to reopening under the Westin brand.  

The hotel features 100 guestrooms and suites, many with views of the Sacramento River.

Final Four Coverage. Adam Zimmerman, president of marketing for Galleria tenant and full-service marketing agency CSE, was interviewed by the Atlanta Business Chronicle for a story about the Final Four basketball tournament in Atlanta.

Zimmerman spoke about the tournament’s appeal to sponsors, saying that they “put a lot of thought into all sports partnership alliances. Properties are asking corporations for a good deal of money, and you really have to make sponsors understand how you are going to show return on investment.”

Tenant Times: March 27, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Hotel Project Completed. Batson-Cook Construction recently completed a Hampton Inn location next to the National Infantry Museum in Columbus, Ga. The 65,000-square-foot hotel has 102 rooms and studio suites and has amenities that include a pool, fitness center, meeting room and business center.

As an extended site of the National Infantry Museum, which Batson-Cook also built, the hotel will provide lodging for visitors to the museum and attendees of events at nearby Fort Benning. 

New Leasing Hire. The Shopping Center Group, a real estate advisory firm, has added Chris Caldwell as its director of leasing for properties in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Tennessee. He will oversee the firm’s landlord services in seven offices.

He comes to The Shopping Center Group after a three-year stint with Vision Real Estate. He also previously served as a partner with CCRE.

Workplace Recognition. WellPoint Inc., one of the nation’s largest health benefits companies, was recently named to LATINA Style Magazine’s list of the top 50 U.S. companies for Latinas to work. The company came in at No. 18, marking its fifth consecutive appearance on the list. 

To make it on to the list, companies are evaluated on issues that LATINA Style readers selected as important, including number of Hispanic women executives and board members, Hispanic community outreach, employee benefits, alternative work policies, military recruitment, mentoring and leadership programs. 

“This award is a testament to WellPoint’s commitment to a workforce that reflects the many cultural backgrounds and walks of life of our members and customers,” said Karin Sarratt, vice president for talent management and chief diversity officer at WellPoint, in a press release.

Bringing Services In House. Employee benefits agency Digital Insurance has appointed Carl Pilger as the company’s in-house legal counsel. As vice president, legal counsel, Pilger will be responsible for benefits-related legal matters, education, compliance and health care reform initiatives.

Pilger has worked for much of the last two decades in a variety of legal and consulting positions, according to a press release.

Tenant Times: March 13, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Big Win(s). Marketing agency CSE set a new company record this year by winning 18 ADDY Awards given by the Atlanta chapter of the American Advertising Federation.

CSE won four gold, 12 silver and two bronze awards in the magazine, newspaper, outdoor and collateral posters categories for its advertising pieces and campaigns.

For a full list of awards, see this press release from CSE. 

Buying Up Properties. The RADCO Cos. recently closed on its eighth multifamily acquisition in the last few months with its purchase of The Pavilion at Decatur. The Pavilion at Decatur is a 144-unit property near Emory University.

RADCO plans to renovate the units and offer more amenities to increase the value of the property. The plans demonstrate RADCO’s strategy to acquire properties that have significant upside potential at below-market values, RADCO President and CEO Norman Radow told Globe St.

A Man of Many Appearances. Ultimate Software, which provides human resource and payroll software, has announced that Mitchell Dauerman, its executive vice president and chief financial officer, will present at three investor conferences in March.

Dauerman spoke at the Raymond James & Associates Annual Institutional Investors Conference on March 4. He also presented on March 12 at the Piper Jaffray Technology, Media and Telecommunications Conference, and he will speak on March 19 at the ROTH Capital Partners Annual Conference.

New Chair Announced. Urban Land Institute (ULI) Atlanta has announced it has selected David Allman, chairman of Regent Partners, as its next chair. Allman’s term will start in July.

Allman also serves on ULI Atlanta’s Advisory Board.

Tenant Times: Feb. 19, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Business Score. The athletic equipment and clothing retailer Hibbett Sports has announced that it will begin using business intelligence software from Atlanta Galleria tenant QuantiSense. 

Hibbett, which has more than 800 stores in 26 states, will use QuantiSense’s Decision Orchestration Platform to help formulate its merchandising, marketing and store-operation decisions. 

“It is our opinion that QuantiSense has the deepest functionality and most comprehensive retail analytics offering available,” said Mike McAbee, strategy officer and vice president of merchandise planning for Hibbett Sports, in a press release.

“We are looking forward to working with the team at Hibbett to provide a solid foundation for all their business intelligence needs across the enterprise — now and as they continue to grow,” added Jeff Buck, CEO of QuantiSense, in the release.

Two Firms Unite. Atlanta Galleria tenant and employee benefits agency Digital Insurance has acquired Tennessee-based Capital Benefits Group. Capital Benefits, which has offices in Nashville and Knoxville, now operates under the Digital Benefit Advisors (DBA) name. The acquisition gives Digital Insurance its first offices in Tennessee.

“Bringing [Capital Benefits Group President and CEO Harold Roe] and his staff into the DBA fold strengthens our presence across the Southeast,” said Mike Sullivan, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Digital Insurance, in a press release. “Capital Benefits Group is highly respected for its strategic approach to business and the customer service it extends to clients. They have been helping employers effectively manage costs while providing more affordable, attractive benefits packages.”

Pros to Know. Atlanta Galleria tenant LogFire, a cloud-based warehouse management solution and managed services provider, was recently recognized by Supply & Demand Chain Executive magazine. Founder and CEO Diego Pantoja-Navajas and Vice President of Global Services and Support Jaret Lynch were named “Pros to Know” in the magazine’s annual list of the best supply-chain industry professionals.

The magazine’s “Pros to Know” awards recognize those who help meet the supply-chain industry’s challenges and demonstrate good leadership.

Pantoja-Navajas founded LogFire in 2007 and has grown the company into a leader in supply-chain management. Lynch has more than 15 years of experience in supply-chain software and consulting.

“We’re honored to have been nominated and selected for this award,” said Pantoja-Navajas in a press release. 

“We accept this recognition on behalf of all our valued employees and customers who truly motivate us to strive for real supply-chain excellence every day and to focus on supply-chain improvement and value creation in all that we do,” Lynch added.

Partnership Reaches New Heights. Atlanta Galleria tenant Travelport, which provides business services to the travel industry, has renewed its partnership with SNTTA, a travel-management company in the United Arab Emirates, for another three years. The two companies first began working together in 2009.

In the renewed agreement, Travelport will provide SNTTA with some of its latest technology offerings, including payment software and a mobile app for travel agents on the go.

Tenant Times: Jan. 4, 2013

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

New Team Member. Real estate development firm The RADCO Cos. recently hired Bryan Gershkowitz, formerly with the Atlanta office of Barnes & Thornburg LLP, as general counsel.

Gershkowitz also previously served as a partner with commercial real estate and workout group McCalla Raymer LLC. 

RADCO President and CEO Norman Radow said in a statement that Gershkowitz was hired for his extensive experience. “We are pleased to have [Gershkowitz] join the RADCO team as we continue our business plan to acquire multifamily assets in several markets,” Radow said. “His addition will serve to further expand our ability to transact on more complex opportunities in a more sophisticated marketplace.”

Shoe of Honor. A panel affiliated with the Urban Land Institute Atlanta’s Center for Leadership was recently awarded with a “Golden Shoe” award from Pedestrians Educating Drivers on Safety (PEDS).

PEDS charged the five-member panel – created as part of the center’s mini Technical Assistance Program (mTAP) – with conducting research on the city of Atlanta’s sidewalks and examining the various problems created by making individual property owners responsible for the upkeep of adjacent sidewalks.

The research helped support PEDS’ ongoing effort to change an Atlanta sidewalk ordinance to make all taxpayers fund sidewalk maintenance and repair. The members of the panel included Todd Addison of Jacoby Development, Michael Howell of Lincoln Property Group, Bill Mealor of Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group, Jake Von Trapp of Columbia Residential and Christina Byrnes of tvsdesign.

Important Recognition. Marriott International has received a “Best in Business Travel” award from Traveler magazine. Specifically, the Marriott Rewards program received recognition for being the best hotel loyalty program.

The magazine’s awards are determined by its readers, who vote for their favorite products or services in different categories within the business travel industry.

New Business. The New Jersey-based Deborah Heart and Lung Center has hired Atlanta Galleria tenant Ultimate Software to provide the UltiPro solution to unify the hospital’s human resource, payroll and talent-management functions into one cloud platform.

Tenant Times: Dec. 5, 2012

The Tenant Times is a regular feature designed to keep you up to date on the Atlanta Galleria’s tenants. The Atlanta Galleria Office Park is home to some of the Southeast’s leading companies — so there’s always interesting news. If you’re a Galleria tenant and would like us to feature your news, email us at [email protected].

Great Recognition. QuantiSense, which provides business intelligence software for retailers, was listed on Deloitte’s 2012 Technology Fast 500, which ranks the fastest growing companies in North America in the fields of technology, media, telecommunications, life sciences and clean technology.

“The companies on the Fast 500 list are among those that have demonstrated remarkable innovation, creativity and business savvy,” said Bill Ribaudo, a partner with Deloitte and Touche LLP, in a press release.

“We are honored to be included in Deloitte’s Fast 500,” added Jeff Buck, CEO of QuantiSense, in the release. “Our employees deserve all the credit for their dedication and drive to deliver innovative analytics solutions to retailers – including buyers, allocators, planners and store operators – enabling them to make better informed decisions."

Nothing but Net. Marketing company CSE has announced it will be the marketing agency of record for the Atlanta Hawks for the second straight year.

CSE will work jointly with the Hawks’ marketing team to develop consumer advertising campaigns and will serve as a consultant on business-to-business efforts. Last year, with CSE’s help, the Hawks ranked third in the NBA in combined group and individual ticket sales.

“We are thrilled to continue our relationship with the Hawks,” said Ron Huey, executive creative director for CSE, in a statement. “Hawks basketball is one of the most exciting live sporting experiences, and we share a common vision with the Hawks marketing team to create fresh, imaginative advertising that garners attention and drives attendance.”

Keeping a Good Thing Going. Travelport, a business services provider to the travel industry, has extended its relationship with IBM by reaching a new hardware and software agreement with the firm.

Specifically, Travelport will implement eight new IBM zEnterprise mainframes to run Travelport’s new high-volume transaction processing system.

“While these transactions are invisible to most consumers, speed, reliability and flexibility are of the utmost importance in the travel industry,” said Marty Salfen, general manager of travel and transportation for IBM, in a press release. “This agreement further demonstrates our mutual focus on supporting one of the most critical aspects of the travel industry as Travelport continues to introduce new services, while maintaining the travel industry's most resilient technology platform.”

“This agreement extends a 35-year business relationship between Travelport and IBM,” added Gordon Wilson, president and CEO of Travelport, in the release. “Using the latest IBM hardware, software and middleware allows us to support the more sophisticated functionality required by our customers and the continued growth of Travelport's business.”