ECI Group Promotes Suzy Alford to General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer

ATLANTA — ECI Group has promoted Suzy Alford to General Counsel and Chief Operating Officer, effective September 4, 2026, consolidating legal, risk management, human resources, information technology and property operations under a single executive leader.

Alford joined ECI Group in February 2023 as Chief Administrative Officer and had also been serving as General Counsel. In her expanded role, she continues to report directly to Chief Executive Officer Seth Greenberg.

An Expanded Mandate Across Corporate and Property Functions

The promotion brings together two distinct operational tracks — corporate infrastructure and community-level property management — under Alford's oversight. Her responsibilities now span legal affairs, risk management, property operations, information technology, human resources, and learning and development.

Greenberg said the restructuring creates a single, clear line of accountability across those functions while freeing him to concentrate on strategic priorities.

"Suzy joined us to build the infrastructure a growing company needs, and she has done that. The way we hire, develop, and manage our people today is a direct result of her work. Bringing Property Operations and IT under the same leadership as Legal, Risk Management and HR gives our teams a single, clear line of accountability, and it allows me to devote more of my time to strategic partnerships, investment activity, and growth," Greenberg said.

Nearly Four Years of Organizational Buildout at ECI Group

Since joining ECI Group, Alford has been credited with building out several foundational corporate functions. She introduced a talent acquisition function to the company, enabling what the firm describes as a more structured approach to identifying and hiring personnel. She and her teams also rebuilt onboarding processes, performance management systems, and learning and development programs.

Alford framed her expanded role as an extension of that internal discipline into property-level operations.

"This role is about making ECI easier to work for and easier to do business with. Bringing the same discipline we've built into how we hire and develop people to how we operate our communities is the natural next step, and I'm looking forward to working even more closely with our property management and IT teams," she said.

Background in Law and Corporate Counsel

Before joining ECI Group, Alford served as Vice President and Global Employment Counsel at Equifax. She also practiced at Eversheds Sutherland and Jackson Lewis, and clerked for the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Eleventh Circuit. She holds a J.D. from Duke University School of Law and a B.A. from Washington and Lee University.

Market Context: Multifamily Operations Under Pressure to Perform

The promotion arrives as the multifamily sector moves through an uneven operational recovery. The national multifamily vacancy rate fell 20 basis points to 5.7% in the first half of 2026, while average rents rose 1.2%. Construction activity dropped to 3.5% of inventory in the second quarter, its lowest level since 2013, and second-quarter deliveries fell 27% year over year. Net absorption reached 124,600 units in the second quarter, and national asking rents increased 1.5% year over year.

Despite those improvements, rent growth is expected to remain below pre-pandemic levels in 2026 because substantial new supply remains available for lease, particularly in the Southeast, South Central and Mountain regions — markets that are directly relevant to an Atlanta-based owner and operator. Elevated financing costs, insurance expenses and wage pressure continue to make cost control and risk management central to property-level returns.

In that environment, integrating legal, risk and human resources functions with property operations and IT under a single executive may help ECI Group coordinate compliance, staffing and technology decisions more efficiently across its portfolio. Greenberg's stated intent to redirect his own time toward investment activity and strategic partnerships suggests the company is also positioning its management platform for additional expansion.

Sources

ECI Group — Suzy Alford Named General Counsel & Chief Operating Officer