Biography
Yale Cottrell IV is a Project Manager at CIG Consulting. Yale came to project management from the design side, with a background spanning architecture, development, and construction. He is a graduate of Kennesaw State University's College of Architecture and Construction Management, and that training shows up in how he works. He reads a drawing set the way the architect drew it, which means he tends to find the conflicts between disciplines while they are still lines on paper rather than change orders in the field.
On a project, Yale runs the working team. He tracks who owns what and where each responsibility actually stands, so the schedule reflects reality instead of intention. His core discipline is risk: he identifies what could go wrong, builds the mitigation plan before it is needed, and puts clear action items in front of the people who have to execute them. Owners get the short version of all of it, which is what is at risk, what we are doing about it, and what we need from you.
Outside the job, Yale is one of the more active young professionals in Atlanta commercial real estate. NAIOP Georgia (now CREDA Georgia) named him the Debbie Koenig Volunteer of the Year in December 2024 and selected him for the Class of 2025 Future Leaders Program. He is Construction Chair for the BuildUp Network and on the committee for CREDA Georgia Special Events, and has volunteered with Atlanta Habitat for Humanity and the Ron Clark Academy's Extreme Home Makeover.