Horrell Company, one of the oldest commercial real estate companies serving Nashville and Middle Tennessee, has announced that Elliott Smith has acquired the company and will serve as its president.

Smith succeeds Steve Horrell, who served as president and principal broker and worked closely with Smith in the business since 2018. Horrell died in April at age 73.

Horrell Company specializes in brokerage services, tenant and landlord representation, real property development, acquisitions and dispositions, and property and asset management services in the industrial, retail and office sectors.

Smith brings to the company significant business and legal expertise, with substantial real estate, development, M&A, joint venture and finance experience across a variety of industries and markets.

He joins Horrell Company from Acadia Healthcare, where he served as in-house counsel providing legal guidance, support and oversight for Acadia as it executed on strategic goals across its national footprint.

Before Acadia, Smith was an attorney with Waller Lansden Dortch and Davis, LLP (now part of global law firm Holland & Knight), where he advised both public and private companies on M&A, joint venture, real estate, capital markets and other strategic business transactions. Smith also has a background in accounting and gained considerable experience as a forensic auditor at Coleman World Group, a premier provider of global relocation services.

Spearman joins Bradley’s Nashville office

Bradley Arant Boult Cummings LLP has added Maddie Spearman to the firm as an associate in the Real Estate Practice Group and the Long Term Care and Senior Housing team.

Spearman is based in Nashville and works with clients on selling and acquiring senior living facilities. She has experience drafting purchase and sale agreements, conducting due diligence, and preparing and finalizing closing documents. She also regularly advises clients on regulatory matters such as securing and maintaining licensure, initiating changes of ownership, and compliance with relevant federal and state laws and regulations.

Spearman has additional experience advising nonprofit clients on matters unique to tax-exempt organizations, including applications for tax-exempt status, tax-exempt bond financing and various corporate formation and governance issues.

before joining Bradley, she worked at a boutique health care and senior living firm in Texas. Spearman earned her J.D. from the University of Texas School of Law and her B.S. from Vanderbilt University.

Roberts named BD managing shareholder

J. Allen Roberts has been named the managing shareholder of Baker Donelson’s Nashville office.

Roberts assumes the role from Brigid M. Carpenter, who has served as the Nashville managing shareholder since 2017. Carpenter will return to a full-time focus on her practice, which includes products liability defense, catastrophic personal injury defense, defense of class actions, and prosecution and defense of commercial disputes.

While serving as office managing shareholder, Roberts will maintain his legal practice, which is focused on corporate governance, mergers and acquisitions, and public and private equity and debt offerings. He works with clients across industry sectors, including manufacturing, health care, and technology. Roberts has extensive experience in representing management and private equity funds in middle-market recapitalizations, acquisitions, and divestitures.

Roberts graduated from Battle Ground Academy, Millsaps College, and the University of Tennessee College of Law. He is active in numerous community organizations and currently serves on the board and is president-elect of the Tennessee Chapter of the Association of Corporate Growth.

Belmont announces five new board members

The Belmont University Board of Trust recently added five new members for the start of the 2023-2024 academic year.

• Andrea Waitt Carlton is the president of the AWC Foundation, which generously supports a number of initiatives that reflect her lifelong interests in education, community development, conservation, animal dignity and preservation of our nation’s founding principles.

• Dr. Michael Cuffe is executive vice president and chief clinical officer for Nashville HCA Healthcare, one of the nation’s leading providers of health care services. He is broadly responsible for the company’s clinical and physician agenda including clinical quality, nursing, clinical informatics, care transformation, urgent care operations, graduate medical education, laboratory services and more than 13,000 employed and managed physicians.

• Winston Justice is an investment adviser at AllianceBernstein’s Nashville headquarters, serving as an asset manager to multigenerational families, entrepreneurs and nonprofits. After his NFL career (2006-2015) with the Philadelphia Eagles, Indianapolis Colts and Denver Broncos, Winston immediately entered the financial industry as an associate analyst with Wells Fargo Securities.

• Burke Nihill is in his eighth season with the Tennessee Titans and his fourth as the team’s President and CEO. He joined the organization as General Counsel in 2016. During his time with the Titans, Nihill has overseen the bid for Nashville’s record-breaking 2019 NFL Draft, the expansion of its headquarters and practice facility, Ascension Saint Thomas Sports Park and the approval of a public-private partnership to build a new, enclosed stadium within a transformational new town center on Nashville’s East Bank.

• Emily Reynolds has had an extensive career in public service, policy and government in Washington, D.C. and Tennessee. She is currently the vice chairperson of the Tennessee Board of Regents, the state’s governing board for its community colleges and colleges of applied technology.

“I am enthusiastic for these influential leaders to join Belmont’s Board of Trust,” Belmont President Dr. Greg Jones says. “I have no doubt that their individual stories and areas of expertise will make a significant contribution to Belmont’s bigger story that is still being written as we look forward to a future of continued growth, flourishing and community outreach.”

Joining the five new board members are two new alumni regents, chosen to help provide leadership and advice to the Board by representing the views of students and new alumni: Peter Geoly, a 2022 Sport Administration and Corporate Communications graduate, and Keidron Turner, a 2023 Politics and Public Law graduate.

Osterberg takes over as SSR CEO

Smith Seckman Reid, Inc., an engineering design and consulting firm headquartered in Nashville, has named Susan Osterberg the firm’s new chief executive officer, effective Sept. 1.

Osterberg succeeds former CEO Steve Lane, who will continue to serve as chair of SSR’s board of directors.

Osterberg was previously president and chief operating officer, a position she held since April 2021. Osterberg joined SSR in 2011 as VP of Human Resources to lead the efforts in support of strategic initiatives and goals.

Her initial focus on the effectiveness of the organization’s structure and talent contributed to a major restructuring of the firm. In 2015, Osterberg was named chief administrative officer as part of the executive team leading the firm’s Support Services group including organizational development, human resources, marketing, and IT. She has served on the board of directors since 2017.

She earned degrees in both Business Administration and Organizational Communications in 1988 from Concordia College in Minnesota. She is a member of ACEC and was selected to participate in Zweig Group’s inaugural launch of Elevate HER. Other industry involvement has included SHRM Executive Network, ECCF, Association for Talent Development, World at Work, Nashville Emerging Leader Awards selection committee – Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, and the University of Tennessee Advisory Board.

Biesman joins MedSpa Partners

Dr. Brian Biesman has joined MedSpa Partners Inc. as part of its North American medical aesthetics platform. Based in Nashville, Biesman and his team have been pioneering advances in both surgical and nonsurgical medical aesthetics for nearly 35 years.

A renowned oculofacial plastic surgeon, Biesman is recognized as one of the most innovative practitioners in medical aesthetics, with over 200 clinical studies, book chapters, and peer-reviewed publications to his name.

His contributions to the advancement of medical aesthetics include cofounding and codirecting Music City SCALE, one of the largest, longest-running, and most recognized aesthetic meetings in America.

Biesman, a member of numerous advisory boards, has held multiple society presidencies and has been listed as one of America’s Top Doctors for nearly 20 years running.

One GI appoints Newton as CEO

One GI, a management service organization specializing in gastroenterology, has named Christa Newton as its new chief executive officer. She previously served as the firm’s chief operating officer.

Newton brings a wealth of experience in propelling organizations toward heightened performance, seamless integration, and robust revenue growth. Outlining her aspirations for One GI, she shared, “In my role as CEO, I am deeply committed to fostering clear leadership, facilitating open channels of communication, and championing a culture of collaboration. Our overarching goal is to amplify the strengths of our local physicians and practices, with a steadfast commitment to ensuring that patient care excellence remains at the forefront of all we do.”

Complimenting this leadership transition is the appointment of Michael Harper as chief financial officer. Experienced in mergers and acquisitions, Harper’s vision for the financial realm combines innovation with steadfast principles of transparency and collaboration. As he undertakes this pivotal role, his dedication ensures One GI’s financial endeavors remain in alignment with the organization’s core mission and values.

Koch honored with Inns of Court award

William C. Koch Jr. has been selected to receive the 2023 American Inns of Court A. Sherman Christensen Award, which recognizes an Inn member who has provided distinguished, exceptional, and significant leadership to the American Inns of Court movement at the local, state, or national level.

Koch, president and dean of the Nashville School of Law, will receive the award in October at the 2023 American Inns of Court Celebration of Excellence at the Supreme Court of the United States.

A member of the American Inns of Court since 1990 and president of the organization from 2018 to 2020, Koch first joined the board in 2000. At the local level, he is a founder of the Harry Phillips American Inn of Court and has served as the Inn’s president for over three decades. He was an organizing member of the Belmont University College of Law Inn and the Nashville Entertainment and Intellectual Property Law Inn.

Koch has been president and dean of the Nashville School of Law since 2014. Koch has also been a professor of constitutional law at the law school since 1997. Earlier in his career, Koch served as a justice on the Supreme Court of Tennessee from 2007 to 2014.

Koch earned an undergraduate degree in English from Trinity College in 1969. He earned his law degree from Vanderbilt University Law School in 1972 and earned a master of laws degree in judicial process from the University of Virginia School of Law in 1996.