The law firm of Baker Donelson has added former Tennessee Senate senior legislative adviser Jacob D. Baggett as a public policy adviser in the firm’s Nashville office.

Baggett assists companies, organizations and associations in navigating legislative and regulatory matters in Tennessee. He serves clients in industries such as manufacturing, health care, transportation, automotive, energy, real estate and financial services, as well as educational institutions, local governments and economic development districts.

Before joining Baker Donelson, Baggett served as senior legislative adviser to Tennessee Senate Republican Caucus Chairman Ken Yager and consulted on election strategy for the caucus. He served as campaign manager for former Tennessee House Speaker Beth Harwell’s campaign for governor in 2018 and practiced as a public policy attorney at a law firm in Tennessee.

While in law school, he served as a judicial intern to Chief Justice Gary R. Wade of the Tennessee Supreme Court.

A graduate of the Lincoln Memorial University, John J. Duncan, Jr. School of Law, Baggett also serves as executive director of the Tennessee Intercollegiate State Legislature Foundation, a civics-minded nonprofit.

Hardaway promotes Cothran to president

Hardaway Construction announces the promotion of Tracy Cothran from former senior vice president to president. Cothran advanced through the firm from laborer to carpenter, foreman and superintendent.

As president, Cothran will oversee all day-to-day operations of the company. His wealth of experience and deep understanding of the business make him uniquely qualified for this role. This transition is a testament to his hard work, commitment to Hardaway Construction and his embodiment of the company’s core values: transparency, innovation, attention to detail and a collaborative approach.

Cothran has been involved with projects in the Nashville market since 1987. Throughout his 30-year career, he has led projects in the Middle Tennessee market and others throughout Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi, Florida and Texas. He has led efforts for some of the region’s most pivotal projects, and his experience and skills broaden the capabilities and expertise of the firm.

Institutional Property expands in Nashville

Institutional Property Advisors, a division of Marcus & Millichap, has added multifamily investment adviser David Stollenwerk in Nashville. Previously a senior vice president with Northmarq, Stollenwerk joins IPA as a director with over 15 years’ experience serving institutional investors, national developers, banks, REITs, pension funds and major private investors with the acquisition and disposition of multifamily assets.

Stollenwerk holds a business administration degree from Georgia State University. He is a member of the National Multi Housing Council, National Apartment Association, Nashville Apartment Association, ICSC, and is a certified commercial investment member.

Gibson taps Ericson as permanent COO

Gibson Brands, Inc. has named Luke Ericson to the permanent role of chief operating officer, reporting to Cesar Gueikian, president and CEO of Gibson Brands.

Acting as interim chief operating officer since May 2023, Ericson has been instrumental in reorganizing the business with the creation of the COO office around manufacturing, planning and supply chain, and enterprise solutions, globally.

He joined Gibson from the global private equity firm KKR, where he was an operating partner. Before KKR, he was a management consultant with AlixPartners, where he helped consumer and retail clients improve profitability through operational improvement programs.

Earlier in his career, Ericson worked as a turnaround and restructuring consultant in Australia. Throughout his career, he has gained significant experience in supply chain and manufacturing operations, typically as part of large-scale business transformations.

Ericson grew up in Australia and has lived in the United States for the last decade. He studied Economics and Finance at the University of Technology, Sydney. Luke is also a Member of the Institute of Chartered Accountants, Australia and New Zealand.

A.O. Smith announces leadership changes

A. O. Smith Corporation, a provider of water heating and water treatment, has promoted David Chisolm, vice president of marketing and customer experience, to vice president and general manager of APCOM and Water Systems in Franklin. Chisolm is replacing Darrell Schuh, who recently accepted the role of senior vice president, president and general manager of Lochinvar in Lebanon, Tennessee.

Chisolm began his career with A. O. Smith in 2004 as retail marketing manager and progressed through different roles to become vice president of marketing in 2014. In 2020, he was promoted to vice president of marketing and customer experience, where he has been leading the marketing, training, customer service, tech support and field service efforts.

As part of this organizational change, the A. O. Smith North America Water Heating business announces two additional updates:

Betsy Curran, senior manager – channel marketing, has been promoted to director of marketing and customer engagement, where she will be responsible for brand management, channel marketing, pre-sales training and digital strategy. Curran began her career at A. O. Smith in 2018 as senior manager – retail channel marketing and was promoted to her current role in 2020. Before joining A. O. Smith, Curran was vice president, group account director for GS&F, an advertising agency in Nashville.

Rusty Hendrix, director of customer service, is assuming additional responsibilities, including overseeing field service engineering, the contractor service network, technical training, order management, transportation planning, warehouse replenishment and technical support. Hendrix joined A. O. Smith in 2006 and has served in a range of capacities spanning materials and distribution management. He has more than 27 years of experience in the manufacturing sector and has held positions in building products, appliance manufacturing and consumer products industries.

Hall Strategies promotes 3, 2 to senior leadership

Hall Strategies has promoted three employees, two of them to senior positions, as the firm continues its growth. They are:

• Ann Marie Anderson, promoted to director

• Nancy Floyd, promoted to director

• Cameron Snow, promoted to senior account coordinator

Anderson joined Hall Strategies in 2021 with a special focus on client engagement in statewide media relations and regional communications. She previously served as director of communications and community engagement to Tennessee First Lady Maria Lee and communications director at Tennesseans for Student Success. She also served as deputy press secretary to former U.S. Senator Bob Corker, and later as a major donor consultant for Kaegi Resources, a Nashville-based fundraising and event management firm.

She is a Cookeville native and graduate of the University of Tennessee-Chattanooga.

Floyd is a leader in the hospitality, entertainment and nonprofit space. She previously spent more than 15 years as a journalist, writer and editor. Most recently, she spent 10 years as editor-in-chief of Nfocus Magazine, a luxury social and lifestyle publication in Nashville.

Originally from Cleveland, Ohio, Nancy is a graduate of Belmont University.

Since joining Hall Strategies in May 2021, Snow’s client work has spanned multiple industries that includes life sciences, hospitality, transportation, community engagement, economic development and commercial development.

He previously worked as a communication liaison under Georgia U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson in Washington, D.C., and Kentucky U.S. Representative Andy Barr in the Lexington field office. Cameron is originally from Atlanta and graduated from the University of Kentucky in 2021 with a degree in integrated strategic communication.

Lifepoint Health names Nordberg senior VP

Lifepoint Health has named veteran human resources leader Traci Nordberg to the newly created role of senior vice president, people services, effective immediately.

In this role, Nordberg leads the organization’s people strategy and oversees all aspects of the people services function, which serves more than 50,000 employees from coast to coast. Her areas of responsibility and oversight include talent acquisition and management, organizational and people development, total rewards and employee experience.

Nordberg comes to Lifepoint from Mass General Brigham in Boston, where she served as senior vice president, human resources and enterprise business excellence. She previously was the chief human resources officer for Vanderbilt Health for nearly a decade and served as vice president and chief human resources officer at Dartmouth University earlier in her career.

Nordberg earned her Juris Doctor from Suffolk University Law School in Boston and a degree in communications with a minor in public relations from Ball State University in Muncie, Indiana. She also holds a certificate in human resources management from Indiana University – Purdue University, Division of Continuing Education.