DI People: JCPenney, Crestline Investors, ResMan, and More Make Moves

Across North Texas, companies are promoting and hiring people for leadership positions.

Dallas Innovates covers prominent personnel moves in Dallas-Fort Worth businesses and nonprofits—from the newest startups to well-established companies. Here are the people moves tied to innovation and technology in the region.

Don’t miss a move: Get Dallas Innovates Every Day. Have a move? Let us know.

JCPenney appoints a new CEO

Marc Rosen

DFW-based department store chain JCPenney is continuing to make moves to exit bankruptcy. The latest: Marc Rosen, a retail industry veteran, has been named chief executive officer effective Nov. 1.

Rosen has more than 25 years of experience in retail and e-commerce. Most recently, he served as the executive vice president and president of Levi Strauss Americas at Levi Strauss & Co., where he led commercial operations for Levi’s, Dockers, Signature by Levi Strauss & Co., and Denizen. Before that, he spent 14 years at Walmart Inc. in a variety of senior leadership functions.

With Rosen’s appointment, Stanley Shashoua, the chief investment officer of Simon who has been serving as JCPenney’s interim CEO since January, will move to the role of executive chairman of the Board of Directors.

“Marc joins JCPenney following a year of focused work to stabilize the business, improve financials, and position the retailer for long-term success,” Shashoua said in a statement. “Working with the phenomenal and dedicated JCPenney team as CEO has been immensely rewarding, and I look forward to my next step as executive chairman. Marc’s significant e-commerce and retail experience with companies like Levi’s and Walmart makes him the perfect fit to lead the next chapter of the Company’s transformation as we work to better serve our customers.”

Crestline Investors names a co-chief investment officer

Keith Williams

Fort Worth-based Crestline Investors, a credit-focused institutional alternative asset manager, has promoted Keith Williams to co-chief investment officer alongside Douglas Bratton. Williams will continue to serve in his role as managing partner overseeing its credit strategies.

Williams originally joined Crestline in 2012 as managing director and senior portfolio manager, and became a partner in 2016. He came to the firm from McKinsey & Co., where he was a senior member of McKinsey’s Recovery & Transformation Practice. In his new role as co-CIO, he will work alongside Bratton, who is also Crestline’s founding partner and CEO, to guide policies and strategies across all investments.

“The elevation of Keith to co-CIO ensures long-term continuity in our senior leadership and enables the firm’s growing portfolio of opportunistic and direct lending strategies to continue executing the same proven investment processes built over the last 24 years,” Bratton said in a statement. “Under Keith’s leadership Crestline has established itself as a premier lender within the middle and lower middle markets and has committed more than $8 billion in its Opportunistic and Direct Lending Strategies to date.”

ResMan gets a new CTO

Nick Olsen

Plano-based ResMan, a property management SaaS platform provider, has promoted Nick Olsen from vice president of engineering to chief technology officer.

In his new role, Olsen will be responsible for driving ResMan’s evolution to a full stack platform that supports multifamily and affordable housing managers in operating more efficiently. He will also oversee all technology and engineering resources, along with research and development. Olsen has been with ResMan since 2008, most recently leading the innovation and evolution of its cloud-based multi-tenant platform.

“We are very fortunate to have Nick at the helm of our technology evolution,” Michael Dunn, ResMan COO, said in a statement. “His skills and foresight have been instrumental in building out critical infrastructure and processes for our tech systems and teams for more than 10 years. Nick is a superior technologist with a deep understanding of real estate and property management needs.”

Knox Financial brings on a director of operations

Chad Cox

Dallas-based Knox Financial, an investment property platform that assists people in turning their homes they’re moving out of into an investment property, has added Chad Cox to its team as director of operations.

Cox has vast experience in operations and project management for local real estate technology companies. He joins Knox from real estate company Orchard, where he served as market manager, acquisition manager, and renovations manager for the Dallas-Fort Worth area. At Knox, he will lead all aspects of operations across seven states as a key member of the national leadership team.

“Homeowners who are ready to move usually sell their home and buy a new one, but just because this is what’s typically done doesn’t mean it’s the best financial decision for the homeowner,” David Friedman, Knox’s CEO and co-founder, said in a statement. “Chad Cox is an operational expert in the real estate industry. More importantly, he is passionate about our mission to help everyday people build wealth through the properties they already own.”

Mohr Partners makes key hires in the national capital region

Jason Watt

Dallas-based Mohr Partners, a global corporate real estate services firm that represents occupiers and corporations, has added Jason Watt and Peter Berg to its Washington DC team as managing partners.

“Jason and I are looking forward to leveraging Mohr Partners best-in-class corporate real estate expertise to help our corporate clients restructure and optimize their leased and owned real estate portfolios,” Berg said in a statement.

Watt and Berg both have more than two decades of experience in commercial real estate services. Together, they recently formed a brokerage partnership after separately rising to high-level industry roles with top three global corporate real estate firms. They leveraged their corporate real estate and tenant advisory using Mohr Partners’ business intelligence, labor analytics, and economic incentives consulting platforms.

“We chose to join Mohr Partners to offer our tenant & occupier clients a sophisticated suite of value-added site selection services which will allow them to make optimal business decisions pertaining to their real estate,” Watt said.

Darling Ingredients Inc. adds to its board of directors

Celeste Clark

Irving-based Darling Ingredients, a leading producer of organic ingredients and renewable clean energy, has appointed Celeste A. Clark, PhD, to its board of directors as an independent director.

Clark, who expands the number of directors to ten, will also join a new, standalone environmental, social, and governance committee currently being developed by the Board. She has served as a principal of Abraham Clark Consulting since 2011, consulting on nutrition and health policy, regulatory affairs, and leadership development. She is also an adjunct professor in the Department of Food Science and Human Nutrition at Michigan State University.

“We are excited to welcome Dr. Clark to our Board as her leadership, experience and wealth of knowledge in the areas of sustainability and nutrition are a great addition,” Darling Chairman and CEO Randall C. Stuewe said in a statement. “I believe she will provide excellent guidance in enhancing our ESG messaging and bring thoughtful insight into the positioning of our Rousselot brand Peptan products as they continue to grow across the globe.”

Southwestern Health Resources expands its executive leadership

Thomas “Mac” Marlow Jr.

Dallas-based Southwestern Health Resources (SWHR), the clinically integrated network of UT Southwestern Medical Center and Texas Health Resources, has appointed two executive leaders to continuing advancing as a leader in population health management.

Thomas “Mac” Marlow Jr. was named chief information officer and Shashi Vangala was named chief data and value creation officer.

In his new role, Marlow will lead SWHR’s information technology strategy, operations, and analytics. He will focus on strengthening the tech relationship with Texas Health and UT Southwestern Medical Center to optimize current systems and increase clinical efficiency. Most recently, Marlow was the vice president of software applications at Lehigh Valley Health Network.

Shashi Vangala

Vangala, in the newly created position, will be tasked with developing robust data capabilities that harness the power of predictive analytics and AI to create value for the physicians, clinicians, payors, and employers SWHR serves. He is a 20-year veteran of the healthcare industry with experience leading data and analytics functions across nationally regarded healthcare organizations.

“I’m thrilled to welcome Mac Marlow and Shashi Vangala to the Southwestern Health Resources team,” Andy Ziskind, MD, the senior executive officer for SWHR, said in a statement. “Successful population health management makes actionable use of predictive analytics and data to close care gaps and improve clinical outcomes. Mac and Shashi will each play integral roles in expanding our digital strategy and connecting providers across our network.”

StreetLights Residential brings on an SVP of Design

Vincent Hunter

Dallas-based StreetLights Residential, a design-driven developer of multifamily and mixed-use communities, has added Vincent Hunter to its team as the senior vice president of design.

Hunter will focus on StreetLights’ design vision, innovation, and initiatives alongside President of design Paige Close. He and Close will also lead the planning team. Hunter has 27 years of design experience in multiple asset classes, including multi-family, mixed-use, hospitality, master planning, retail, and office buildings. Most recently, he was the principal of design at WDG Architecture, where he co-founded the Dallas office in 1998.

“Vincent’s design expertise, industry knowledge, and leadership make him a valuable asset for StreetLights,” StreetLights Residential CEO Doug Chesnut said in a statement. “For many years I have praised his deep level of design, talent and experience and in this new role he will build upon our vision of design-driven development and aid in the continued success of our organization.”