Angela M. Playle has joined Waller Lansden Dortch & Davis, LLP after serving as senior vice president and deputy general counsel at HCP, Inc., a real estate investment trust now known as Healthpeak Properties.

As a member of Waller’s Healthcare Department, Playle will represent REITs, hospitals and health systems, health care investors and other health care organizations with transactions and operations involving medical office buildings and senior living communities, skilled nursing facilities and other health care properties.

In a number of progressively responsible roles at HCP, Inc., Playle provided counsel on transactions ranging from $1 million to $100 million. She was a strategic adviser to the executive management team on proposed transactions, operational matters and other issues at the publicly traded REIT that owns and develops assets in the health care real estate market.

Playle earned her J.D. in 1997 from Emory University School of Law, where she won the Commercial Real Estate Award. She also is a graduate of Vanderbilt University.

Burr & Forman expands sports law practice

The Nashville office of Burr & Forman LLP has expanded its sports law practice to include representation of veteran and rookie NFL players in contract negotiations.

League rules require agents who represent NFL players to be vetted and certified by the NFL Players Association. Burr & Forman lawyers Alex Little and Zack Lawson made the cut in October and are the only NFL Contract Advisors in Tennessee associated with an AMLAW 200 law firm. The pair previously has represented professional athletes and coaches in various legal matters.

Burr & Forman lawyers across the firm bring extensive experience and diverse knowledge to the firm’s sports practice. “Because we’re part of a large law firm, we’re able to offer services to our clients that other agents can’t,” said Burr & Forman Partner Alex Little. “Our size also allows us to treat players’ careers like the business ventures they are. Businessmen want competence and value when they hire advisers. We provide both.”

Little previously served as a federal prosecutor in Washington, D.C. and Nashville, and he regularly represents clients whose cases make front-page news. Previously a four-year collegiate athlete himself, Lawson has represented individuals in both professional and collegiate athletics.

Bridgestone announces executive changes

Bridgestone Corporation has announced executive leadership changes in its Americas and Asia Pacific regions, effective March 2020. They are:

TJ Higgins, vice president and senior officer, global chief business strategic officer of Bridgestone Corporation, has been named global chief digital strategic officer of Bridgestone Corporation, vice chair of the board, Bridgestone Americas, Inc. and chair of the board, Bridgestone Asia Pacific.

The G-CDSO role was previously held by Paolo Ferrari, who was recently named member of the board, president, CEO & COO of BSAM, in addition to his roles as executive vice president and executive officer of Bridgestone Corporation.

Higgins, who currently also serves as member of the board and group president, Americas Tire for BSAM, will be based in Nashville.

Gabriel Asbun, vice president and senior officer of Bridgestone Corporation and member of the board, CEO & COO of BSCAP, will succeed Higgins as member of the board and group president of Americas Tire for BSAM. Asbun will be based in Nashville and report to Paolo Ferrari.

Yoshikazu Shida, vice president and officer of Bridgestone Corporation, has been named CEO and COO of BSCAP, succeeding Asbun. He also remains chairman of Bridgestone (China) Investment Co., Ltd. and Bridgestone Taiwan Co., Ltd.

Shida will be based in Singapore and will report to Akihiro Eto, Member of the board, president, COO and executive officer of Bridgestone Corporation.

Dowdle Construction Group promotes 4

Dowdle Construction Group has announced promotions of four employees. They are:

Terry Mulliniks, promoted to director of pre-construction. Previously an estimator, Mulliniks has more than five decades of experience spanning work with multiple companies on projects valued up to $200 million. He works closely with the owner, architect and project engineers to capture the full scope of work required for each project and manages the process by analyzing the construction documents and subcontractor proposals in order to provide accurate budgets.

John Bruce, senior superintendent, has been in the construction industry for 43 years, most recently a superintendent at Dowdle. Bruce provides direct supervision of foreman, subcontractors and other work-site personnel and leads on-site field administration.

David Stiles, senior superintendent, has completed multiple projects with the Army Corps of Engineers and previously held military security clearance working on military bases, including serving as a co-senior project superintendent on the Command and Control Facility at Fort Campbell.

J. Jeffrey Cricco, senior project manager, is the primary contact for projects performed for the State of Tennessee. Those projects range from of $1 million to $6 million. Cricco is a graduate of Franklin Pierce College with a degree in business management.

Skanska promotes Johnson to VP of TN operations

Rob Johnson, an industry veteran with 20 years of experience in commercial construction, has been promoted to vice president of operations in Tennessee by Skanska.

Johnson, who is based in Skanska’s Nashville office, joined the company in 2004 and was most recently a project executive. He has served on the construction team for a variety of major projects throughout the southwestern region including Fifth + Broadway, Lifeway Christian Resources, HCA Capital View, University of Kentucky Gatton, University of Kentucky Commonwealth and the Williamson Medical Center Surgery and Children’s Addition.

Johnson is originally from Mississippi and attended Mississippi State University.

The Healing Trust adds 1, promotes 2

The Healing Trust has added a staff member and promoted two others:

Samuel Jackson has joined the team as its senior program and community engagement officer. Jackson will manage the physical and mental health grants’ portfolios and implement THT’s advocacy work specific to those portfolios.

He has 18 years of combined experience in education and the nonprofit industry, serving in a variety of roles. He earned a degree in social work and a master’s degree in health, physical education and recreation from Tennessee State University. He is also a certified fundraising executive, earning his CFRE certification in 2015.

Jennifer Oldham has been promoted from program and communications officer to communications director. She also supports the alleviation and prevention of burnout in nonprofits through The Trust’s Sabbatical Grants and organizational culture support programs.

Meredith Benton has also been promoted from senior program officer to vice president of advocacy and programs. Her new role expands her engagement in advocacy and allows for more community engagement. She also manages the grant portfolio that includes organizations providing healing from abuse, neglect and violence, as well as organizations engaged in systems change advocacy to increase health care access and/or the prevention/mitigation of adverse childhood experiences.

Previously known as the Baptist Healing Trust, THT was formed from the sale of Baptist Hospital to Ascension Health/St. Thomas Health Services in 2002. Since then, it has given more than $92 million in the Middle Tennessee community.

Marcus & Millichap expands health care investment team

Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, announced has added office investment real estate professionals Anthony Lunceford and Joe Massa. Both were with Colliers International.

Lunceford and Massa join as senior managing directors. Together, they have transacted in more than 25 states on approximately 4 million square feet of investment real estate valued at $1.1 billion, IPA reports.

Solutions 21 promotes VP of consulting services

Solutions 21 has promoted Rob Salome from director to vice president of consulting services as it positions itself for future growth.

Salome, based in Clarksville, has been with the firm for three years and has a long history of leadership to the firm and its clients.

With 27 years of military and corporate leadership experience, Salome brings expertise in leadership development, strategic planning and design thinking. He is a retired Army colonel and graduate of the U.S. Military Academy at West Point. Salome has served in several military roles leading teams, including the 101st Airborne, the 82nd Airborne and the 173rd Airborne units.

He earned a degree in mechanical engineering at West Point and a master’s degree in management and administration from Central Michigan University. He also earned a master’s degree in strategic studies from the U.S. Army War College.