Duke Realty announces leadership changes

Duke Realty Corp. on Wednesday said Chris Burns has been promoted to executive vice president, real estate operations, prompting regional market leader promotions.

Chris Brown has been named regional president of the South and Central Region, Nancy Shultz the regional president of the Western Region and Art Makris regional president of the Northeast Region.

Makris will be based out of the Indianapolis-based firm’s New Jersey office in Jersey City. He has been with Duke Realty for 25 years, primarily focused on in the Ohio region. After overseeing the company’s Columbus, Cincinnati and Nashville offices as a market leader, he was promoted the role of regional senior vice president of Duke Realty’s Northeast Region.

Shultz, Brown and Makris will manage their respective region operations and report directly to Burns in his new role.

“Chris Burns has proven experience as an industry leader and invaluable depth of company knowledge gained over his 18 years with Duke Realty,” said Steve Schnur, chief operating officer at Duke Realty. “Additionally, through Nancy, Chris and Art’s leadership, the company’s portfolio has experienced unprecedented growth and success. Their promotions are well-deserved, and this realignment of markets will strengthen our strategic growth initiatives across our 19 markets.”

Prior to his promotion, Burns oversaw the West and Central regions for Duke Realty, where he was responsible for the operations of 10 logistics markets, which included personnel, leasing and development and investment activities. In addition, he is a member of the company’s Executive, Investment and Operating committees. Previously, Burns served as senior vice president of Duke Realty’s California and Seattle operations. He was instrumental in establishing Duke Realty’s presence in the Western United States, growing its portfolio to more than 25 million square feet primarily through development.

Shultz was previously the regional senior vice president responsible for the profitability of Duke Realty’s Southern California operations, including the oversight of its existing portfolio and its growth through new development and investment opportunities. Shultz is a 17-year commercial real estate veteran, joining Duke Realty after serving as senior vice president of capital deployment for Dermody Property’s Southwest Region and vice president of capital deployment at Prologis and AMB Property Corp. During her tenure with these companies, she completed more than $1.5 billion of building and land transactions.

Brown joined Duke Realty in 1996 as a financial analyst. Since joining, he has served in a variety of roles and continued to grow his career. In 2009, he took the leading role in Duke Realty’s Savannah portfolio and its Atlanta suburban office portfolio, eventually leading the company’s operations in Georgia, Florida and three mid-Atlantic markets as regional senior vice president. Before joining Duke Realty, Brown was a senior real estate consultant and tax accountant with Arthur Andersen LLP.