Greystar Hires Cope Willis as Managing Director, Sustainability
CHARLESTON, S.C. – June 13, 2022 – Greystar Real Estate Partners, LLC (“Greystar”), a global leader in the investment, development, and management of high-quality rental housing properties, today announced that Cope Willis has joined the company as Managing Director of Sustainability to support Greystar’s sustainability and broader Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) efforts.
Willis’s 20 years of sustainability and ESG experience includes working with senior leaders to advance business and sustainability goals, managing cross-functional teams, and aligning organizations around sustainability strategies. He will be responsible for leading both the strategy and execution of Greystar’s global climate and sustainability efforts with respect to the owned asset portfolio, representing over $50 billion in asset value.
“Sustainability is at the heart of all future-proofed real estate strategies,” said Bob Faith, CEO, Greystar. “We are excited to welcome Cope as our new sustainability leader as his extensive industry experience and ability to harmonize business and sustainability goals will continue to help Greystar strive to be a leader in ESG performance. This is in line with Greystar’s ongoing commitment to managing a changing climate by implementing robust climate risk mitigation and sustainability programs.”
Prior to joining Greystar, Willis was Vice President, Sustainability & Environmental Solutions at Harsco Corporation, where he led the global sustainability program and ESG integration across key corporate and business unit functions. Before that, he was Director of Sustainability Services at PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, where he advised some of the largest global real estate, private equity, and financial services companies.
“Greystar is a global leader that realizes its impact in the broader industry landscape, and ESG is a top priority for the company,” said Willis. “Greystar consistently seeks ways to minimize its environmental impacts and has recognized that ESG is central to all its stakeholders from investors to residents. I am thrilled to bring my experience in building strong sustainability programs and strategies to Greystar and look forward to driving the next phase of the company’s leadership and innovation in ESG practices across the industry.”
Willis holds a bachelor’s degree in Environmental Science from the University of Virginia and a doctorate in Earth Sciences from the University of California, Santa Cruz. Willis is a member of Real Estate Roundtable, Urban Land Institute, U.S. Green Building Council, and American Iron & Steel Institute Sustainability Committee.
About Greystar
Greystar is a leading, fully integrated real estate company offering expertise in investment management, development, and management of rental housing properties globally. Headquartered in Charleston, South Carolina, Greystar manages and operates over $221 billion of real estate in 224 markets globally including offices throughout North America, Europe, South America, and the Asia-Pacific region. Greystar is the largest operator of apartments in the United States, manages over 768,000 units/beds, and has a robust institutional investment management platform with more than $58.2 billion of assets under management, including over $24 billion of development assets. Greystar was founded by Bob Faith in 1993 with the intent to become a provider of world-class service in the rental residential real estate business. To learn more, visit www.greystar.com.
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