Real Estate 2023: GERALD S. DIVARIS

Divaris co-founded Divaris Group in South Africa in 1974. Since 1981, the firm has been headquartered in Virginia. Divaris Real Estate, one of the companies under the Divaris Group umbrella, opened its first office in the United States in 1982 in Virginia. Along with its Virginia Beach headquarters, Divaris has offices in Newport News, Norfolk, Richmond and Roanoke, as well as in Charlotte and Raleigh, North Carolina; Beverly Hills, California; and Washington, D.C.

The firm currently manages or leases more than 39.3 million square feet of office, retail and industrial space in the U.S. It represents more than 75 retailers, including Kohl’s, Best Buy, Trader Joe’s, Banana Republic, Staples and P.F. Chang’s.

In May, Divaris Group restructured its top leadership. Tony Divaris, Gerald Divaris’ cousin, was promoted to chief operating officer after previously serving as the company’s internal controller and CFO. David Sutliff, who had served as a company adviser for 12 years, was named chief financial officer.

The restructuring followed a string of acquisitions and a partnership with KLNB that added more than 200 employees to the company.

Divaris earned his bachelor’s and master’s degrees from the University of Cape Town in South Africa.