Forestar : Management Team

Jim DeCosmo

President and Chief Executive Officer

Jim has served as our President and Chief Executive Officer since 2006. He served as Group Vice President of Temple-Inland from 2005 to 2007, as Vice President, Forest from 2000 to 2005 and as Director of Forest Management from 1999 to 2000. Prior to 2000, he held land management positions with several companies throughout the southeastern United States.

In addition to completing the Stanford University Executive Program, Jim holds a Bachelor of Science in forest resources and conservation from the University of Florida.

Craig Knight

Chief Investment Officer

Craig has served as our Chief Investment Officer since 2006. From 1994 to 2006, he served as President of Lumbermen’s Investment Corporation, which changed its name in 2006 to Forestar (USA) Real Estate Group Inc. Mr. Knight was a principal in the real estate development firm of Heath and Knight Properties from 1991 to 1994, and was a partner with Centre Development from 1978 to 1994.

Craig has over 30 years of real estate development and investment experience. He is a graduate of the University of Texas where he earned a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Tom Burleson

Executive Vice President, Real Estate Services

Tom joined Forestar in 2003 and is responsible for project underwriting, due diligence, and vendor services for all of Forestar's projects. Tom's background includes over 25 years of financial and real estate-related experience, with expertise in large, master-planned communities with extensive amenity packages.

In addition to numerous positions affiliated with the Trammell Crow family, he was partner in a Dallas-based holding company with investments in real estate, and oil and gas exploration and production. He graduated from Texas Tech University with a Bachelor of Business Administration.

Tom Etheredge

Executive Vice President, Eastern Region

Tom has served as our Executive Vice President since 2006. He was a member of Guaranty Bank’s commercial real estate lending segment from 1992 to 2006, where he served as Senior Vice President and Managing Director for the Eastern Region from 1999 to 2006, and as Vice President and Division Manager from 1997 to 1999.

Tom's background includes over 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, including key management positions focused on business development and relationship management, structured finance, strategic partnerships, and risk-management. He graduated from St. Edward's University in Austin, Texas, with a degree in Economics.

John Pierret

Executive Vice President, Western Region

John came to Forestar as Executive Vice President of Pacific Guaranty Real Estate, which was acquired by Temple-Inland in 1986. John established our residential development division in the Dallas, Texas area, which grew to encompass Houston, Denver, Kansas City, Los Angeles, and Tampa.

In addition to his early experience as a Certified Public Accountant, John’s background includes eight years in corporate tax management, development of partnership retail centers. He is a graduate of the University of Southwestern Louisiana where he earned his Bachelor of Arts in accounting.

Chris Nines

Chief Financial Officer

Chris has served as our Chief Financial Officer since April 2007. He served as Temple-Inland’s Director of Investor Relations from 2003 to 2007, and as Corporate Finance Director from 2001 to 2003. He was Senior Vice President of Finance for ConnectSouth Communications, Inc. from 2000 to 2001.

Chris received a Bachelor of Business Administration from the University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee, and a Master of Business Administration in Finance from the University of Notre Dame.

David Grimm

Chief Administrative Officer, General Counsel and Secretary

David has served as our Chief Administrative Officer since April 2007, in addition to holding the offices of General Counsel and Secretary since 2006. Mr. Grimm served Temple-Inland as Group General Counsel from 2005 to 2006, Associate General Counsel from 2003 to 2005, and held various other legal positions from 1992 to 2003. Prior to joining Temple-Inland, Mr. Grimm was an attorney in private practice in Dallas, Texas.

He is a Certified Public Accountant with experience as an auditor for an international accounting firm. David received both a Bachelor of Business Administration with an emphasis in accounting and a Juris Doctor from Southern Methodist University.

Chuck Jehl

Chief Accounting Officer

Chuck has served as our Chief Accounting Officer since 2006. He served as Chief Operations Officer and Chief Financial Officer of Guaranty Insurance Services, Inc. from 2005 to 2006, and as Senior Vice President and Controller from 2000 to 2005. From 1989 to 1999, Mr. Jehl held various financial management positions within Temple-Inland’s financial services segment.

A Certified Public Accountant licensed in the state of Texas, Chuck received his Bachelor of Arts in accounting from Concordia Lutheran College at Austin.