Cole Companies Promotes Blair Koblenz to President.

PHOENIX -- Cole Companies Founder and Chief Executive Officer, Christopher H. Cole, announced the appointment of Blair D. Koblenz as President of the company effective March 1. Mr. Koblenz, who served as Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer since 1994, will now oversee all of Cole's

real estate investments, operations and securities offerings. "Our firm has experienced remarkable growth," explained Mr. Cole. "Blair's leadership over the last 12 years has been instrumental." Since 2004, sales have increased over fivefold while the company has more than doubled the number of employees.

Cole Companies is a leading real estate investment management firm focused on the acquisition of quality commercial real estate. Their portfolio is primarily invested in properties leased to high-quality retail businesses such as Best Buy, Walgreens, Lowes and Staples. Since 1979, Cole has formed and managed over 100 investment programs, owning and/or managing real estate assets with a combined acquisition and development cost in excess of $2 billion.