TEAM
Our Principals
Joe C. Longbotham, Principal
M. Scott Kipp, Principal
Prior to forming The Cogent Group, from 1993 to 2007, Scott was Managing Director and oversaw day-to-day operations of Cardinal Capital Partners, Inc., a real estate investment firm that focused exclusively on the acquisition of net leased corporate real estate. During his tenure, Cardinal Capital Partners, Inc. acquired several hundreds of properties valued at approximately $5 billion, totaling approximately 50 million square feet throughout the United States and in Europe.
Prior to Cardinal Capital Partners, Scott was a development associate at Property Company of America and JPI, two apartment development companies located in Dallas, Texas.
Scott is a graduate of the University of Texas, graduating in the top quarter of his class, with a Bachelor of Business Administration Degree with concentrations in finance and international business. Scott is an avid golfer, an instrument-rated pilot and resides in Dallas, Texas with his wife and three children.
L. Grey Stogner, Principal
Stogner is a principal and co-founder of The Cogent Group, LLC.
Prior to forming The Cogent Group, Grey was with S.C. Companies for over 20 years, specializing in the development, management, and sales of commercial properties throughout Texas. During his career, he has been integrally involved with the entitlement, development, leasing, and construction management of over 5,000,000 square feet of commercial space, including grocery-anchored and specialty retail, lifestyle centers, single-tenant facilities, and multi-tenant office buildings.
During his career Grey has worked with pension fund advisors, high net worth families and private investors. Some of the tenants Grey has worked with include Tom Thumb (Safeway), Randalls Food Markets, Costco, Wal-Mart, Walgreen’s, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chili’s, Cheddar’s Casual Cafe, McDonald’s, Wendy’s, Blockbuster, Starbucks, Barnes and Noble, Stein Mart, CareNow, Chick-fil-A, Starbucks, Whataburger, and TJ Maxx.
In 2008 Grey formed Crestview Real Estate, LLC for the purpose of continuing in the development, manage ment and leasing of commercial space. Crestview provides management, development, and leasing functions for Cogent Group assets. www.crestviewcompanies.com
Grey earned a BBA with majors in Management, Marketing and Real Estate from Baylor University, where he was also a football letterman.
Grey has served on the Board of Directors for Goodwill Industries of Dallas, The Highland Park Sports Club (past president), and Compass Ministries, and currently serves on the Board of Crossfirst Bank.
Grey resides in Dallas with his wife, Mona.
Dana M. Goldsmith, Principal
Dana Goldsmith is a Principal of The Cogent Group and runs its New York office. She is responsible for the origination, underwriting, and structuring of sale-leaseback transactions and opportunistic acquisitions.
Prior to joining Cogent, Dana was employed by Cardinal Capital Partners from 1999 to 2009 where she served as a Managing Director 2003 to 2009 and as its Vice President from 1999 to 2002. From 1997 to 1999, she was an Associate at Corporate Realty Investment Company Capital, LLC, a private real estate company based in Boston. Throughout her career, Dana has been integral in sizeable portfolio acquisitions with A&P, Georgia Pacific, KFC, Albertson’s, 7-Eleven, Dick’s Sporting Goods, PetSmart, and various other national and regional operators, enabling these companies to maximize the value of their real estate holdings through sale-leasebacks and build-to-suit transactions.
Dana holds a B.A. from Duke University and her J.D. from Boston University School of Law. She was admitted to the New York and Massachusetts bars. Dana has served on the board of Tribune Publishing and is currently Chair of the Jewish Life at Duke Advisory Board. She resides in Scarsdale, New York with her husband and two children.
Our Professionals
Our growing family of professionals
Gwen Jones, Vice President
Gwen has been with The Cogent Group since its inception in 2008. Prior to Cogent Group’s founding, she worked with principals Joe, Scott, and Dana as an acquisitions manager for Cardinal Capital Partners from 1996 to 2006 where she was instrumental in growing the company to one of the largest sale-leaseback principals in the country.
Prior to joining Cardinal Capital Partners, Gwen worked for Trammell Crow Company in their Dallas Headquarters as an asset manager from 1985 – 1996.
Gwen also manages the personal finances of Mr. Longbotham and oversees the finances and construction of numerous student housing projects associated with Baylor University in Waco, Texas. Gwen is a graduate of the University of Utah, where she majored in economics and finance and earned a Bachelor of Business Administration degree in 1983.
A native Californian, Gwen enjoys travel, spending time with family and playing the piano.
Staci Bowen, Vice President
Staci is Vice President of Development and Portfolio Management for Crestview Real Estate, LLC.
Staci has been with Crestview since its inception in 2008. Prior to the founding of Crestview, she worked with Grey Stogner, Principal, in the same role for S.C. Companies from 1989 to 2008. At S.C. Companies, Grey and Staci teamed with Craig Evans to build a multi-million-dollar portfolio of grocery-anchored shopping centers.
Prior to S.C. Companies, Staci started her career with the Hall Financial Group in its Dallas headquarters in Accounting and Finance from 1985 – 1989.
Staci graduated from Oklahoma State University where she majored in Accounting, earning a Bachelor of Science in Accounting in 1985. She is a native of Oklahoma and enjoys spending time with her two beautiful daughters, a beloved Son-In-Law and her new grandbaby, Jason Jeffery (JJ).
Wallace Rains, Controller
Wallace Rains is the Controller for The Cogent Group, LLC.
Wallace has been with The Cogent Group since it’s inception in 2008. Wallace is also the Chief Financial Officer for Crestview Real Estate, LLC and has worked with Grey Stogner, the owner of Crestview and a Principal of Cogent, since 2005.
Prior to working with Cogent, Wallace owned his own business as a business consultant from 1998 to 2004 working with non-profits, local governments, and CPAs. Wallace also worked in commercial real estate for Carter-Crowley Properties and Crescent Real Estate Equities from 1992 to 1997.
Wallace is a graduate of The University of Texas at Dallas, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Accounting.
Wallace enjoys spending time hiking and traveling with his wife and three beautiful daughters.
Miles N. Longbotham, Associate
Miles is a licensed Commercial Real Estate agent and joined The Cogent Group as an Associate in 2016. He is the son of Co-Founding Principal Joe Longbotham. During his tenure, he has worked on numerous acquisitions ranging from single tenant pad sites to acquiring portfolios of properties. Miles brings an insightful analysis and commitment to supporting the endeavors of The Cogent Group.
Additionally, Miles is an integral part of Longbotham Investment Company and aids in managing and analyzing a myriad of family investments and real estate assets, including a portfolio of student housing projects in Waco, Texas.
Prior to joining The Cogent Group, Miles began his career with Dallas-based Hudson Advisors. After, he worked in the automotive performance industry doing computer-aided design (CAD), computer-aided manufacturing (CAM), manual machining, and sales.
Miles received his B.A. in business administration from the University of Alabama and an A.S. in applied sciences from the School of Automotive Machinists & Technology in Houston, Texas.
Miles lives in Dallas with his wife and two children and enjoys playing golf, hunting, and supporting the Alabama Crimson Tide.