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Cousins Properties Executive Compensation (FY25)

CUZ · Atlanta, GA · Executive and director compensation, fiscal 2022 to 2025
Chief executive, fiscal 2025
◇
M. Colin Connolly
Latest say-on-pay support
=
April 29, 2025
Chief executive pay ratio
◇
To the median employee
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Data as of October 20, 2026Latest filing (DEF 14A): March 18, 2026
6 filings cited on this page
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240 figures on this page: 238 cited to the filing that reported them, 2 calculated from figures it prints. See the citations
What changed from fiscal 2024 to fiscal 2025
The figures that moved, and by how much. Analysis of these figures is part of the Velarion platform.
Chief executive total compensation — M. Colin Connolly: $7,989,587 → $8,688,925 (8.8% higher)
CEO pay ratio: 63:1 → 80:1 (27.0% higher)

Frequently asked questions

Answers drawn from the data on this page.
Who is Cousins Properties' chief executive and what were they paid?
M. Colin Connolly was paid $8,688,925 in total compensation as President and Chief Executive Officer for fiscal 2025. Connolly's total moved 8.8% higher from the $7,989,587 reported for fiscal 2024.
What was Cousins Properties' say-on-pay result?
The say-on-pay proposal drew 90.2% of votes cast for or against in favor at the meeting held April 29, 2025 for fiscal 2024.
Which companies are in Cousins Properties' peer group?
The disclosed peer group includes Brandywine Realty Trust, BXP, Inc., COPT Defense Properties, Douglas Emmett, Inc. and Empire State Realty Trust, Inc., among others.
What is Cousins Properties' chief executive pay ratio?
For fiscal 2025, the company reported a chief executive pay ratio of 80:1, against median employee compensation of $108,989.

Executive compensation

Every element reported for each named executive officer, by fiscal year.
Fiscal 2022
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
M. Colin Connolly
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Gregg Adzema
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Richard Hickson
Executive Vice President of Operations
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John McColl
Executive Vice President - Development
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2023
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
M. Colin Connolly
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Gregg Adzema
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John McColl
Executive Vice President - Development
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Richard Hickson
Executive Vice President of Operations
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2024
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
M. Colin Connolly
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Gregg Adzema
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John McColl
Executive Vice President - Development
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Richard Hickson
Executive Vice President of Operations
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Fiscal 2025
OfficerSalaryBonusStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
M. Colin Connolly
President and Chief Executive Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Gregg D. Adzema
Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
Richard G. Hickson IV
Executive Vice President - Operations
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
John S. McColl
Executive Vice President - Development
◇—◇—◇—◇◇
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. A negative change in pension value is shown but, as the company reports it, not included in the total.

Equity awards granted

Individual awards as disclosed: type, date, unit counts at each level, and grant date value.
Fiscal 2025
OfficerAwardGrant dateThreshold unitsTarget unitsUnits grantedMaximum unitsExercise priceGrant date fair value
Gregg D. AdzemaPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Gregg D. AdzemaPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Gregg D. AdzemaRSU◇——◇——◇
John S. McCollPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
John S. McCollPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
John S. McCollRSU◇——◇——◇
Kennedy HicksPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Kennedy HicksPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Kennedy HicksRSU◇——◇——◇
M. Colin ConnollyPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
M. Colin ConnollyPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
M. Colin ConnollyRSU◇——◇——◇
Richard G. Hickson IVRSU◇——◇——◇
Richard G. Hickson IVPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Richard G. Hickson IVPSU◇◇◇—◇—◇
Fiscal 2022, 2023 are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero. Threshold, target and maximum apply only to performance awards and are never shown for time-based or option awards.

Outstanding awards

Awards still held at fiscal year end.
As disclosed at fiscal 2025 year end
OfficerAwardUnvested unitsMarket value of unvested unitsExercise priceExpires
Gregg AdzemaPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Richard HicksonPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
Kennedy HicksPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
John McCollPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
M. ConnollyPSU◇◇——
PSU◇◇——
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Severance and change in control

The terms as written in the agreements.
Kennedy Hicks
Executive Vice President and Chief Investment Officer · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Non-compete period◇
M. Colin Connolly
President and Chief Executive Officer · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Non-compete period◇
Richard G. Hickson IV
Executive Vice President of Operations · citing a 2025 filing
Severance cash amount◇
Equity acceleration on change in control◇
Non-compete period◇

Director compensation

What each non-employee director was paid.
Fiscal 2025
DirectorFees earned in cashStock awardsOption awardsNon-equity incentivePension and deferred earningsAll other compensationTotal
Robert M. Chapman
Board chair
◇◇———◇◇
Susan L. Givens
◇◇———◇◇
Donna W. Hyland
◇◇———◇◇
R. Kent Griffin, Jr
◇◇———◇◇
R. Dary Stone
◇◇———◇◇
Scott W. Fordham
◇◇————◇
Charles T. Cannada
◇◇————◇
Dionne Nelson
◇◇————◇
M. Colin Connolly served on the board in fiscal 2025 and received no compensation for board service. Executive directors are typically paid through their executive roles, shown above.
Earlier years are included in the PDF.
A dash means the company reported no figure in that column. $0 is shown only where the filing prints a zero.

Director fee schedule

The standing retainers and premiums the board pays, as published.
Board cash retainer◇
Board equity retainer◇
Board chair premium◇
Audit committee chair◇
Compensation committee chair◇
Nominating and governance chair◇
Equity is delivered as Common Stock.
Stock ownership guideline: 5x annual cash retainer

Disclosed peer group

The companies this board named as its compensation comparison group. The list is disclosure; the comparison is analysis.
Fiscal 2025
  • Brandywine Realty Trust BDN
  • BXP, Inc. BXP
  • COPT Defense Properties CDP
  • Douglas Emmett, Inc. DEI
  • Empire State Realty Trust, Inc. ESRT
  • Highwoods Properties, Inc. HIW
  • Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc. HPP
  • JBG Smith Properties JBGS
  • Kilroy Realty Corporation KRC
  • Paramount Group, Inc. PGRE
  • Piedmont Office Realty Trust PDM
  • SL Green Realty Corp. SLG
  • Vornado Realty Trust VNO

Say-on-pay history

Shareholder support for the compensation program, by year.
YearMeetingSupportVotes forVotes againstAbstentions
2024April 29, 2025=◇◇◇
2019April 21, 2020=◇◇◇

Chief executive pay ratio

As calculated and reported by the company.
Ratio
◇
Median employee compensation
◇
Chief executive total compensation
◇

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Sample answer — “What is the CEO’s total compensation?”
- M. Colin Connolly (President and Chief Executive Officer), FY2025 total compensation $8,688,925 (base salary $791,813) [exec_comp, SEC accession 0000025232-26-000031, filed 2026-03-18]

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What this page does not include

Everything above is a fact Cousins Properties disclosed, and it is free. Everything below is our analysis of those facts, and it is not.
Peer benchmarking
Where Cousins Properties sits against its disclosed peers — percentile position by role and by pay element, and the ranking behind it. The disclosed peer group is free; comparisons across it are part of the Velarion platform.
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Written compensation analysis
A read of the pay program as designed and as paid: incentive structure, goal rigor, the alignment between the committee's stated philosophy and what the numbers show.
Executive Compensation Report — $1,500
Board and governance analysis
Committee composition, independence, director pay positioning, and the governance provisions read together rather than listed.
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Realizable pay
What the awards above are actually worth today against what they were valued at on grant, and what the gap says about the pay-for-performance link.
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Citations

Every figure on this page is cited to the document that reported it. Select any figure to see its citation.
240 figures on this page: 238 cited to the filing that reported them, 2 calculated from figures it prints.
238 cited to the filing
2 calculated from the filing

Documents cited

  1. 0000025232-26-000031
    CEO: Median Employee Pay Ratio · COMPENSATION OF DIRECTORS · Director Compensation · OUTSTANDING EQUITY AWARDS AT 2025 FISCAL YEAR-END · and 1 more section
  2. 0000025232-25-000029
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
  3. 0000025232-25-000019
    Compensation Discussion and Analysis · SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE FOR 2024
  4. 0000025232-24-000011
    SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE FOR 2023
  5. 0000025232-23-000027
    SUMMARY COMPENSATION TABLE FOR 2022
  6. 0000025232-20-000028
    Item 5.07 Submission of Matters to a Vote of Security Holders
Cite this data
This page is free to cite. Attribution we ask for:
Velarion, “Cousins Properties executive compensation, FY2022–FY2025.” https://intel.velarion.ai/comp/CUZ (accessed 2026).
Short form: data: Velarion

The Cousins Properties brief, $1,500

Positioning against its disclosed peers, the governance read, incentive design, and the CD&A alignment analysis; the full peer table; a committee-ready PDF.
From $499 for the board report; $2,400 for both.
Get the executive briefGet the board briefNo account needed.
6 filings cited on this page
Method: intel.velarion.ai/methodology
A report that fails to generate is refunded in full
Published by Velarion Company Intelligence
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Real Estate rankings

Chief executive pay — Real EstateCEO pay ratio — Real EstateSay-on-pay support — Real Estate

Peers Cousins Properties discloses

The companies named in CUZ's own disclosed peer group.

Brandywine Realty TrustBXP, Inc.COPT Defense PropertiesDouglas Emmett, Inc.Empire State Realty Trust, Inc.Highwoods Properties, Inc.Hudson Pacific Properties, Inc.JBG Smith PropertiesKilroy Realty CorporationParamount Group, Inc.Piedmont Office Realty TrustSL Green Realty Corp.Vornado Realty Trust

Terms on this page

Say-on-Pay VoteCEO Pay RatioMedian Employee CompensationAll companies

Free to read and cite. Redistribution or bulk use of the dataset requires a data license. Talk to us about the data license.

Cite this data
APA
Velarion Company Intelligence. (2026). Velarion database: executive and board compensation data (Version 2026Q3) [Data set]. Zenodo. https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854
BibTeX
@misc{velarionData2026,
  author = {{Velarion Company Intelligence}},
  title = {Velarion database: executive and board compensation data},
  year = {2026},
  version = {2026Q3},
  doi = {10.5281/zenodo.22283854},
  publisher = {Zenodo},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.22283854}
}
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