Michael W. Hayes, CEO, re-joined the company in mid 2008 as Director of Development. Before returning to C. B. Ragland, he opened Struever Bros. Eccles & Rouse’s (SBER) Nashville office in 2005 and served as its Development Director until early 2008. In this capacity, he worked to transform a 20 block area in downtown Nashville. This innovative conceptual master plan envisioned a total investment of $500 million, including entertainment, a waterfront public greenway, multiple hotels, riverfront condominiums, commercial office space, retail shops and street front boutiques.

Prior to joining SBER, he served as Asset Manager for C. B. Ragland. In this capacity, he was responsible for the company-wide asset/portfolio management function and long term strategic planning. He helped transform the company from the 10th largest privately held wholesale grocery operation in the US to one of the largest privately held real estate firms in middle Tennessee.

From 2001-2002, he served as a Financial Analyst with L.J. Melody and Company (CBRE Capital Markets)_in Atlanta, Georgia. While with L.J. Melody, he underwrote approximately $1.5B of real estate assets, participated in the origination and closing of approximately $400MM dollars of debt and $11MM of equity. He was exposed to all real estate asset types and advised local and national investors as to the best strategies to maximize the value of their portfolios through the use of outside debt and equity.

Before joining L.J. Melody, Mr. Hayes was Director of Development for F.O.G. Development in Atlanta, GA. In this position, he was responsible for identifying and acquiring sites for new Walgreens drug stores. He also participated in the development of a Publix anchored shopping center, two strip centers and a Wendy’s restaurant.

After graduating from Rhodes College, he worked for AutoZone, Inc. in Memphis, TN as a Real Estate Manager. He was responsible for identifying and acquiring or leasing sites for new stores in Utah, Wyoming, California, Maryland and Puerto Rico. He gained M&A experience while participating in three chain acquisitions, which added approximately 630 stores in two years. Before leaving AutoZone, Mr. Hayes created the business plan for AutoZone de Puerto Rico. He spent a year working on the island and was responsible for all aspects of creating the business unit, from logistics to distribution to site selection.

His educational background includes a B.A. in Political Science with a concentration in Business from Rhodes College in Memphis, TN and an M.S. in Real Estate from Georgia State University in Atlanta, GA. In the community Mr. Hayes has served as a Board Member of the Nashville Area Chamber of Commerce, the Belle Meade Plantation, THE DISTRICT and was a Founding Board Member of KIPP Academy Nashville, and was elected to serve as the District 8 Representative to the Metropolitan Board of Education from 2010-2014. Mr. Hayes currently serves as a Board Member of the Nashville Symphony.  He is a member of the Civic Design Center, the Rotary Club of Nashville and has been awarded Entrepreneur Organization’s Entrepreneur of the Year Award 2006 (Nashville Chapter), and was named as one of Tennessee’s 100 most influential Real Estate Professionals 2006-2015 (Nashville Business Journal). In 2013 Michael was recognized by NAIOP as "Developer of the Year" for Middle Tennessee.