CUZ Cousins Properties Inc

Cousins Properties Incorporated (NYSE: CUZ) announced today personnel changes at its corporate headquarters. Steve Yenser has been promoted to executive vice president. In this role, Yenser will lead Cousins� leasing and asset management functions, as well as the Company�s third-party services business. Yenser succeeds Joel Murphy, whose retirement was announced by the Company on November 10, 2008. Yenser joined Cousins in 2002 and most recently has served as Senior Vice President in the Leasing and Asset Management group. Bruce Smith, long-time president of the Company�s Land Division and current Senior Vice President in its Development Group, is retiring from the Company effective December 31, 2008. Smith, who joined Cousins in 1993, will continue to provide consulting to the Company on its residential and land development projects. Succeeding Smith is Dan Fields, a 19-year veteran of homebuilder John Wieland Homes and Neighborhoods, who joins the Company as Senior Vice President in the Development Group. Fields worked extensively in land acquisition, management, brokerage and strategic planning at John Wieland and will be responsible for all of Cousins� residential projects. �While we will miss Joel and Bruce, each of whom have made significant contributions to the Company, we are fortunate to have either attracted or grown other top talent to help the Company thrive in the months and years ahead,� said Tom Bell, chairman and CEO of Cousins. �Steve and Dan both bring experience and passion to their respective positions and I look forward to their individual and collective impact on the Company�s future success.� Celebrating its 50th anniversary in 2008, Cousins Properties Incorporated is a leading diversified real estate company with extensive experience in development, acquisition, financing, management and leasing. Based in Atlanta, the Company actively invests in office, multi-family, retail, industrial and land development projects. Since its founding, Cousins has developed 20 million square feet of office space, 20 million square feet of retail space, more than 4,000 multi-family units and more than 60 single-family neighborhoods. The Company is a fully integrated equity real estate investment trust (REIT) and trades on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol CUZ. For more, please visit www.cousinsproperties.com. Certain matters discussed in this news release are forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws and are subject to uncertainties and risk. These include, but are not limited to, general and local economic conditions (including the current general recession and state of the credit markets), local real estate conditions (including the overall condition of the residential markets), the activity of others developing competitive projects, the risks associated with development projects (such as delay, cost overruns and leasing/sales risk of new properties), the cyclical nature of the real estate industry, the financial condition of existing tenants, interest rates, the Company�s ability to obtain favorable financing or zoning, environmental matters, the effects of terrorism, the ability of the Company to close properties under contract and other risks detailed from time to time in the Company�s filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission, including those described in Part I, Item 1A of the Company�s Annual Report on Form 10-K for the year ended December 31, 2007. The words �believes,� �expects,� �anticipates,� �estimates� and similar expressions are intended to identify forward-looking statements. Although the Company believes that its plans, intentions and expectations reflected in any forward-looking statement are reasonable, the Company can give no assurance that these plans, intentions or expectations will be achieved. Such forward-looking statements are based on current expectations and speak as of the date of such statements. The Company undertakes no obligation to publicly update or revise any forward-looking statement, whether as a result of future events, new information or otherwise.