By William Williams
NASHVILLE, TN — Veteran local real estate official Bill Freeman announced Thursday he has stepped down as president and CEO of the Green Hills company that bears his name.
Freeman, the sole owner of Nashville Scene and Nashville Post parent company FW Publishing, has been replaced at Freeman Webb Company by son Bob Freeman, who is a member of the state House of Representatives.
According to a release, Freeman Webb Company is valued at $3.2 billion.
Bill Freeman’s career in real estate started in 1965. In 1979, he and the late Jimmy Webb co-founded Freeman Webb Company.
Freeman Webb bills itself as among the largest owner/operator of apartments in the Middle and East Tennessee regions. The company’s portfolio includes buildings with a collective 17,364 apartment units and located throughout the Southeast.
As part of the transition, Freeman has promoted Matt Olson to chief operating officer from vice president of acquisitions.
“I truly believe I could not be leaving our company in greater hands,” Freeman, who ran for mayor in 2015, says in the release. “The years I’ve enjoyed here are nothing short of amazing, and I would like for Bob and Matt to have that same sense of satisfaction. I look forward to seeing what they do with their own ideas and with the incredible technology available today.”
Longtime friends, Freeman and Webb created FW Publishing in 2018 to acquire from then-SouthComm Inc. the Post, the Scene and Nfocus. The company also owns The News (created via the combination of The Green Hills News and Williamson Homepage). Webb later died in April 2019. (Bob Freeman joined his father’s company following Webb’s death.)
Bill Freeman remains owner of FW Publishing.
