Melissa Ross Smith named COO of Peachtree

Melissa Ross Smith is now chief operating officer for Peachtree Group. She will be responsible for the overall performance, strategy and organizational development of Peachtree and its operating businesses.

Before joining Peachtree, Smith held several high-level positions at organizations. Most recently, Smith was managing director of OS National, where she managed more than 250 professionals and was responsible for evaluating performance management systems and devising improvements to strengthen controls and optimize results, Peachtree said in a statement.

"As Peachtree continues to evolve, improving our foundational processes is imperative to the future growth of our business," said Greg Friedman, managing principal and CEO of Peachtree Group. "Melissa is an excellent complement to our team as she has an exceptional blend of leadership, vision and execution needed to be Peachtree’s COO."

Smith will report to Friedman, and will be a key executive team member, Peachtree’s statement said. Peachtree Group is led by Jatin Desai and Mitul Patel as managing principals.

"I am deeply impressed by Peachtree's success," Smith said. "Not only am I excited about the future opportunities, knowing that I can help execute and bring operational excellence across all segments, but I am also pleased to be joining an executive team representing some of the best people in commercial real estate."

In April, Peachtree appointed Jarred Bussert as vice president of information technology.