ATLANTA, NEW YORK, BOSTON - September 21, 2015 - Piedmont Office Realty Trust (the "Company" or "Piedmont") (NYSE: PDM) announced today the appointment of regional heads for its Southeastern, New York Metro, and Boston portfolios.  The appointments complement the Company's existing regional leadership in Washington, D.C., Chicago, and Dallas and further the Company's operational strategy of maintaining leaders with specialized, local expertise in each of its key markets.  George M. Wells will serve as Executive Vice-President of the Southeastern Region, which encompasses twelve Class A office buildings totalling approximately 2.3 million square feet located primarily in Atlanta and South/Central Florida.  C. Brent Smith will serve as Executive Vice-President of the Company's New York area portfolio, comprised of five assets totalling approximately 2 million square feet in downtown New York and northern New Jersey. Kenneth J. Mulrane, CFA will serve as Senior Vice-President of Piedmont's Boston market, which includes nine assets totalling approximately 1.6 million square feet primarily in the Cambridge and Route 128 submarkets.

                Wells, Smith and Mulrane are all senior Piedmont executives who have been responsible for leasing and asset management activities for various assets in the Company's portfolio during their tenures with the Company.  Mr. Wells brings over 30 years of commercial real estate experience to his new role, including his most recent experience as Piedmont's Head of Asset Management where he oversaw all asset management and leasing nationally for Piedmont's 21 million square foot portfolio. Mr. Smith has been with the Company for approximately three years focused on managing certain properties in downtown Manhattan as well as identifying strategic investment opportunities for the Company, a role he will continue in addition to his new responsibilities. Prior to joining Piedmont, Mr. Smith served as an Executive Director with Morgan Stanley in the Real Estate Investment Banking division advising a wide range of public and private real estate clients.  Mr. Mulrane's approximately 12-year tenure and experience with Piedmont includes responsibility for leasing and asset management activities for various assets in the Company's portfolio.  He has most recently been focused on Piedmont's mid-Atlantic portfolio and will continue to oversee the Company's District of Columbia assets, reporting to Bob Wiberg.

"The appointment of George, Brent, and Ken to lead our three remaining key markets was a logical step given that each of them have already been involved extensively in their respective markets.  Each has broad leasing, asset management, and transactional skills that, when combined with the existing talent of our property management teams, will provide a full complement of real estate skills on a local basis," said C.A. "Bo" Reddic, IV, Executive Vice-President of Real Estate Operations for Piedmont.  

About Piedmont: 

Piedmont Office Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: PDM) is an owner, manager, developer, and operator of high-quality, Class A office properties located in select sub-markets of major U.S. cities. Its geographically-diversified, over $6 billion portfolio is comprised of more than 21 million square feet. The Company is a fully-integrated, self-managed real estate investment trust (REIT) with local management offices in each of its major markets and is investment-grade rated by Standard & Poor's (BBB) and Moody's (Baa2). For more information, see www.piedmontreit.com.

Contact:                 Kerry Hughes
Company:             Piedmont Office Realty Trust
Phone:                   1 770 418 8678
Email:                     Kerry.Hughes@Piedmontreit.com