Cooper Carry is welcoming its third generation of leadership with the appointment of Kyle Reis, AIA, AICP as President and CEO. We wanted to take the opportunity to share more about Kyle’s career, philosophy and plans for the future of the firm.
Career
Kyle earned his Bachelor of Architecture from the University of Notre Dame in 2006 and his MBA with a concentration in real estate from Georgia State University in 2013. After graduating from college in 2006, he moved to Atlanta to take a job at Cooper Carry as a junior urban planner. He rose through the ranks and most recently served as Principal and Director of Urban Design & Planning at Cooper Carry.
Philosophy
Kyle strives for an inclusive design process in which the best ideas rise to the top, public spaces are made meaningful, and people have a diversity of options in their community.
Historically Cooper Carry has been known as an architecture firm with adjacent design services. Kyle aims to cement our status as an international design firm that impacts the built environment through a variety of creative solutions including, of course, architecture.
As an urban planner, Kyle is trained to look at real estate differently. “It’s never been about simply ‘building a building’,” he says. “We have the power to design the human experience, to impact social justice, to connect people to place in a way that elevates their quality of life.”
A practitioner of servant leadership, Kyle’s key themes are trust, collaboration and impact.
I hope the key result of my leadership will be happy, engaged and more productive employees who feel empowered to unlock their purpose and creativity as active participants in the success of Cooper Carry. Our unique perspective provides incredible value to our clients and the communities in which we work.
Community Involvement
Outside of work, Kyle is heavily involved with both the local and national chapters of Urban Land Institute (ULI). He graduated from ULI’s Center for Leadership program in 2016 and has since served in various leadership roles, including his current position on the advisory board of ULI Atlanta and ULI’s Travel Experience and Trends national product council.
Kyle also serves on the Board of Directors for St. Vincent de Paul Georgia (SVdP). He is passionate about SVdP’s mission of preventing homelessness and providing hope by getting to know people in need on a person-to-person basis, often by visiting their homes and seeing firsthand the reality they live in. Because of his involvement, Cooper Carry designed SVdP’s new headquarters in Chamblee, Georgia at cost as part of the firm’s philanthropic efforts.
Personal Life
Kyle lives in Decatur with his wife and three children. He loves his city and is particularly proud of his team’s work on Decatur’s Legacy Park Master Plan. While not at work, Kyle enjoys time with family, running, cooking, travel, and cheering on his alma mater, Notre Dame.
What’s Next?
Under Kyle’s leadership, Cooper Carry is adopting a new five-year strategic plan. The plan focuses on three main areas: creative capital, agility and growth. Creative capital represents investment in the firm’s people. Cooper Carry will be doubling down on training, design innovation and diversity to continue growing the firm’s talent pool and their value to its clients.
Agility represents the firm’s ability to pivot and adapt to a fast-changing world, bringing the right people to the table to deliver outstanding projects. Few design firms have as many services and studios as Cooper Carry. We are able to pull from our deep bench of talent to create specialized teams that blend expertise and perspective. Kyle refers to this as our “mixed-use ecosystem.”
Growth at Cooper Carry over the next five years will take a variety of forms. With Kyle at the helm, the firm will explore opportunities to expand its footprint, acquire new talent and build on its service offerings.