Gregory Miller

Gregory Miller has been named the new president & CEO of Henry S. Miller Cos. The announcement follows the passing of Miller’s father and former CEO Vance Miller. Greg has been with the family company for more than 10 years. Prior to joining it, Miller practiced real estate law for eight years at Geary, Porter and Donovan P.C. His industry experience includes the acquisition, financing, development, leasing and disposition of millions of square feet of commercial real estate.

As former president of Miller Realty Investment Partners and HSM Equity Partners, Miller supervised the acquisition and structuring of commercial real estate transactions including office, multi-family, retail, hotel and industrial properties throughout the Dallas-Fort Worth area, greater Texas and the United States.

Monmouth Appoints Landy as President & CEO

Michael Landy has been named president & CEO of Monmouth Real Estate Investment Corp. He succeeds his father, Eugene Landy, the company founder and its president & CEO since 1968. Michael will continue to serve as chairman of the company’s executive committee and a member of the board of directors. He has been with Monmouth since 2001, and has served on its board since 2007. In 2010, he was named chairman of the executive committee, becoming COO in 2011.

LaSalle Investment Management Names Americas CEO

Jason Kern has been named the new CEO of LaSalle Investment Management, Americas. He will formally join LaSalle on July 1, and will be based in its Chicago office. Kern joins LaSalle from the Hong Kong and Shanghai Banking Corp. (HSBC), where he was a managing director & head of HSBC’s Asia-Pacific real estate & lodging advisory group. Kern founded the real estate & lodging advisory group in 2009, and has built it into one of the leading real estate investment banking franchises in Asia. Over the past three years, Kern and his team advised on high-profile IPOs, equity and bond issues, private equity raises, asset acquisitions, and sales in the Asian property sector with a total transaction volume exceeding $50 billion. Prior to HSBC, Kern spent 17 years at J.P. Morgan & Co., principally in senior roles within the real estate investment banking team.

EQR Appoints Santee as COO

Equity Residential has named David Santee as its COO. The role will have him leading both the company’s operations and management organizations. Santee has been the multi-family REIT’s executive vice president of operations since 2006. He joined the firm in 1994 and has served in a variety of roles in the property management organization, including having had the responsibility for the operations of more than 70,000 units. Equity Residential’s current portfolio comprises 416 properties consisting of 118,788 units.

Arce Joins Cassidy Turley as Senior Managing Director

James Arce has joined Cassidy Turley as senior managing director of its Western region. He will lead property management efforts in Northern California, Los Angeles, San Diego and Arizona. Arce spent 12 years at Cushman & Wakefield Inc.—from 2002 to April 2012—working with property management clients such as AEGON, CW Capital, MetLife, Prudential and J.P. Morgan & Co. His facilities management and corporate services clients included Sun Microsystems, Symantec, eBay, CitiGroup and Pacific Gas & Electric. Arce most recently served as executive managing director of client solutions at Cushman & Wakefield Inc. In April 2012, he left the firm to take a sabbatical, and taught commercial real estate financial management at San Francisco State University.

Greystone Hires Lanigan as EVP

Multi-family and healthcare mortgage lender Greystone has hired Marty Lanigan as executive vice president. He is tasked with overseeing Greystone’s portfolio lending group and will report to co-COO Robert Barolak. The portfolio lending group was established in 2005 to provide borrowers with short-term financing during acquisition, stabilization, rehabilitation and repositioning initiatives. Prior to joining Greystone, Lanigan worked at Meridian Capital and as an independent consultant. Earlier, he founded and led Mezz Cap, a mezzanine lending firm. Lanigan has also held positions with Freddie Mac, GMAC and Prudential over the course of his career.

C&W Promotes Carey to Managing Director

Thirty-year industry veteran Eileen Carey has been named managing director of corporate occupier and investor services in Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s East Rutherford, N.J., office. She currently leads a 20 million-square-foot Fortune 500 management portfolio in New Jersey and Connecticut. Carey joined Cushman & Wakefield Inc. in 1997, and has since been promoted four times. Last year, she spearheaded two initiatives that significantly grew her group’s volume. First, Carey headed the launch of a new mobile engineering and maintenance services platform in New Jersey. She also supported the aggressive growth of her office’s project management team, which expanded its role in supporting the company’s brokerage and property management professionals. During 2012, the project management group completed $600,000 in tenant space build-outs, doubling its 2011 total.

Owen Thomas

Boston Properties has taken a major step in its leadership succession plan with the selection of Owen Thomas as the REIT’s new CEO. Thomas, former chairman of the board of Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., officially stepped into the shoes occupied by Boston Properties co-founder & executive chairman Mortimer Zuckerman on April 2.

Thomas has more than a quarter-century of experience under his belt. At Lehman, he helped spearhead the $15 billion sale of the Lehman-owned Archstone Enterprise L.P. to Equity Residential and AvalonBay Communities Inc. Prior to joining Lehman Brothers’ successor company in 2012, Thomas spent 14 years at Morgan Stanley occupying different roles, including those of president of Morgan Stanley Investment Management and managing director & head of Morgan Stanley Real Estate.

Duncan to Retire from USAA Real Estate Co.

Patrick Duncan, CEO of USAA Real Estate Co., retires from his position May 1. He will pass the torch to current president & COO Len O’Donnell. Duncan became CEO of USAA Real Estate Co. at the beginning of 2006 and has been instrumental in taking the company’s portfolio of assets under management from approximately $3.5 billion to $12 billion. O’Donnell has held his current positions since February 2011, when he joined the company with 25 years of real estate industry experience culled from his roles as president & CEO of Crimson Capital Ltd. and principal & chief investment officer at Crimson Real Estate Fund.

Kilroy Chairman Hands Reins to Son

John Kilroy Sr., founder & chairman of Kilroy Realty Corp., has retired. His son, John Kilroy Jr., has replaced him as the head of the company. Kilroy Sr. founded the company’s predecessor, Kilroy Industries, in 1947 and has served as the REIT’s chairman since its IPO in 1997. Kilroy Jr. has run the day-to-day aspects of the business since 1981 and has been its president, CEO & a director since its incorporation in September 1996. He was the obvious choice when the board met to announce Kilroy Sr.’s replacement earlier this year, having led its private predecessor  in a similar capacity.

Fascitelli Resigns as Vornado CEO

Michael Fascitelli resigned as president & CEO of Vornado Realty Trust. Steven Roth, the REIT’s chairman, will be taking the CEO spot. Fascitelli joined Vornado 16 years ago as president & trustee. He became CEO in May 2009, taking over from Roth, who had served as CEO since May 1989. Fascitelli will continue to serve on the board of trustees and will maintain an office in Vornado’s Manhattan location.

 Crescent Names Sustainability Director

Jenny Vallimont has been named director of innovation and sustainability at Crescent Resources. She will work to bring sustainable design and development approaches to the firm’s multi-family, residential and commercial businesses. Vallimont was formerly vice president & sustainability manager with Bank of America. Prior to that time, she served as manager of sustainability with Crosland L.L.C., where she also worked as an in-house LEED consultant.

Centerline Promotes Levy to CEO

Centerline Capital Group has promoted Robert Levy to CEO. He will also remain president. Levy was previously the president & COO of Centerline and a member of the board of Centerline’s parent company, Centerline Holding Co. He assumed the roles of president & COO in 2010 while retaining his previous title of CFO. In 2012, the CFO post was turned over to Michael Larson. The COO position will remain vacant. Levy joined Centerline in 2001 as a director of capital markets. From 1998 to 2001, he was vice president in the real estate research and investment banking departments at Robertson Stephens. Prior to that time, he worked at Prudential Securities in the real estate equity research group.

Hirsch to Head CMBS at Arbor

Arbor Commercial Mortgage L.L.C. has appointed Todd Hirsch as executive vice president & head of CMBS finance and distribution—a post that will have him overseeing Arbor’s national CMBS origination platform. Hirsch comes to the firm from Credit Suisse, where he most recently served as managing director & head of the European finance group. Prior to that post, his Credit Suisse titles included director & managing director of U.S. CMBS, vice president & director of the real estate group, and principal of the transactions group. Hirsch is based in Arbor’s New York office.

Related Names Jacobsson EVP

John Jacobsson has been named executive vice president at The Related Cos. The newly created position will have Jacobsson pursuing new investment and business opportunities and building upon Related’s existing global institutional investor community. Prior to joining Related, Jacobsson was a partner at AREA Property Partners, which he joined when it was founded in 1993 as Apollo Real Estate Advisors. He started his real estate career in 1990 as a member of the acquisitions group of Trammell Crow Ventures in Dallas.

Cantor Commercial Names Milner Head of Investment Management

Cantor Commercial Real Estate has appointed Chris Milner head of investment management. He has more than 20 years of experience in real estate debt, equity and capital markets. The new role will task Milner with leading all investment management activity, reporting to CEO Anthony Orso. Prior to joining Cantor, Milner spent 14 years at BlackRock Inc., where he co-founded its commercial real estate debt business.

Starwood Capital Group has named C. Scott Rohm as president of SH Group, its hotel brand management company. The branch is currently overseeing the development and launch of two new luxury and lifestyle hotel and residence brands, Baccarat Hotels and 1 Hotels & Resorts. The initial five hotel openings—which include assets in New York, South Beach, Fla., and Morocco—are scheduled over the next 24 months.

Rohm brings nearly 30 years of hospitality experience to SH Group. He was most recently president of Turnberry Hotel Group. Rohm’s prior roles include senior vice president of operations for Carlton Hotel Co. and several positions within Hyatt Hotels & Resorts.

Rivers Named SVP, Managing Director of Lowe

Lowe Enterprises has named Mark Rivers senior vice president & managing director of the real estate group’s operations in Washington, D.C. He will oversee all commercial and multi-family activities in the capital area, including acquisitions, development, asset management and business development. Rivers joined Lowe Enterprises in 2004. He oversaw the $150 million restoration of the Washington Hilton Hotel, as well as the development of the $245 million CityVista project. Prior to joining Lowe, Rivers was COO of a national development management firm, serving as an account manager for major clients including Verizon, Fannie Mae, George Washington University, ExxonMobil, the American Red Cross and Northrop Grumman.

C&W Expands Mid-Atlantic Presence

Cushman & Wakefield Inc. has bolstered its presence in the busy I-81 corridor of Central Pennsylvania with the opening of a new office. The new digs, located at 4507 N. Front St. in Harrisburg, add to the global commercial real estate firm’s existing regional bases in Mid-Atlantic cities like Philadelphia, Washington, D.C., and Baltimore. The firm also has an office in Conshohocken, Pa. Clients to be served by the Harrisburg office include corporate users and institutional investors and landlords. It will also be a home base for the firm’s industrial brokerage team of Gerry Blinebury, Leah Balerno, Patrick McBride and Adam Campbell. The team currently represents more than 15 million square feet of property for sale and/or lease.

Davis Promoted to COO at UDR

Jerry Davis has been named COO at UDR Inc. He was promoted from the position of senior vice president of operations. Davis has been with the company for 21 years, and was most recently tasked with managing the portfolio during the worst economic downturn the company has faced. As of Dec. 31, 2012, UDR owned or had an ownership position in 54,195 units, including 3,066 apartments under development.

Blackstone Taps Barzegar for CEO of LogiCor

AMB Property Corp.’s loss is LogiCor’s gain. Mo Barzegar has just been hired to serve as president & CEO of LogiCor, the European logistics real estate arm of investment advisory firm Blackstone Group. Barzegar comes to the table well equipped to guide LogiCor. At AMB, he was at the helm of a group that orchestrated the acquisition and development of 15 million square feet of European logistics properties with an aggregate value of $1.8 billion. Barzegar also led the charge when AMB made its entrance into the U.K. in 2007.

HFF Adds Seven-Person Capital Markets Team to Denver Office

A seven-person capital markets team led by Mary Sullivan and John Jugl has joined Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P.’s Denver office. The team, formerly of Jones Lang LaSalle Inc., will focus on capital markets transactions in the office, industrial and retail sectors. Sullivan joins as a senior managing director with more than 30 years of industry experience. She has been involved in the sale of nearly 40 million square feet valued at more than $7.5 billion, and has held positions at CBRE Group Inc., Cushman & Wakefield Inc. and Trammell Crow Co. Jugl, who has both a real estate and an investment banking background, joins HFF as a senior managing director. He held positions at Liberty-Greenfield L.L.P. and George K. Baum & Co. prior to joining JLL.

Related Cos. Names Finkle President of Related Affordable

Related Cos. has named Matthew Finkle president of Related Affordable, a developer and buyer of affordable housing. Finkle joined Related in 2009 and has worked on the acquisition and preservation of more than 9,000 units of affordable housing comprising nearly $900 million in development costs. Related Affordable has acquired and preserved tens of thousands of affordable housing units and is expanding its operations nationwide.

Gilbert Named CEO at NorthStar Income

NorthStar Real Estate Income Trust Inc. has promoted Daniel Gilbert, the company’s president & chief investment officer, to the position of CEO. He was also appointed CEO of NorthStar Realty Asset Management L.L.C., a newly formed subsidiary of company sponsor NorthStar Realty Finance Corp. Gilbert has served as NorthStar Income’s chief investment officer since inception and as its president since March 2011. Prior to joining NorthStar in 2004, Gilbert spent 10 years in a number of positions with Merrill Lynch & Co.

Chip Clarke

Transwestern promoted Chip Clarke to the newly created position of president for the Americas. He will be tasked with advancing commercial real estate services growth initially into Latin America. Clarke previously was president of the Gulf Coast and Mountain regions. Transwestern’s nine regional offices have been reorganized into seven territories. Presidents of the seven territories will report to Clarke and COO Mark Doran.

Kevin Roberts

The firm has also promoted Kevin Roberts to president for the Southwest. He will oversee brokerage services, property management and development processes across the region, which includes offices in Austin, Denver, Houston, New Orleans, Salt Lake City and San Antonio. Roberts previously served as president of Transwestern’s Central Texas region.

RCA Hires Mallinson as Executive Managing Director

Real Capital Analytics Inc. has hired Simon Mallinson as executive managing director of its EMEA operations. The firm entered the European markets five years ago; it has tapped Mallinson to reinforce its growth as well as to lead the London-based EMEA team. Steve Williams, executive managing director of RCA and the past president of RICS, will continue to support the EMEA team and to further RCA’s expansion into Asia and Latin America.

Avison Young Buys Houston-Based Mason Partners

Avison Young continues to expand its offerings with the acquisition of Mason Partners, a Houston-based commercial real estate brokerage company. Mason co-founders Todd Mason and Jeff Lindenberger have joined Avison Young as principals. In the last four years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 43 offices and from 300 to more than 1,000 real estate professionals throughout Canada and the United States.

Watters Named CEO of Mortgage Banking at Chase

JPMorgan Chase has named Kevin Watters as CEO of mortgage banking. Watters previously ran mortgage orientation and led the customer experience across mortgage banking. He has been with Chase and its predecessor firms for 13 years. Prior to mortgage banking, Watters had served as CEO of business banking since 2005. Mortgage banking at Chase saw a record high production in 2012.

CBRE Promotes Marshall to Lead Industrial Services

CBRE Group Inc. has appointed Scott Marshall executive managing director of industrial services. He will now lead 850 CBRE professionals focused on warehouse, distribution and logistics properties in the Americas. Marshall has served as a senior managing director in CBRE’s Oak Brook, Ill., office for the past two years, overseeing its Chicago-area industrial and suburban office agency groups. He also oversees the company’s supply-chain practice group and sits on the advisory board for the Americas industrial business. The new appointment is effective April 1, 2013. Prior to joining CBRE in 2011, Marshall held positions at both Colliers International and Duke Realty Corp.

Bermingham Joins USAA as Managing Director of Investments

USAA Real Estate Co. has welcomed Thomas Bermingham as a managing director of investments. He will oversee acquisition, development and joint venture opportunities for USAA Real Estate Co.’s newly opened Northeast regional office, located in New York City. Targeted investment markets include New York, New Jersey, Connecticut and Boston. Bermingham’s more than 30 years in the commercial real estate industry include 11 years as executive managing director for Insignia Financial Group, a company that was later acquired by CBRE Group Inc. He was most recently senior vice president of Patrinely Group, an affiliate of Crimson Real Estate Fund L.P. 

IndCor Welcomes Collins as CFO

Industrial owner and manager IndCor has hired John Collins as CFO, responsible for all financial activities, including accounting and internal controls, financial planning and analysis, treasury functions, tax and risk management. Collins was previously the chief accounting officer at Pearlmark Real Estate Partners, where he was responsible for financial and investor reporting. Prior to his position at Pearlmark, Collins was an auditor at Ernst & Young L.L.P.

PREI Names New European Co-Heads, Chief Risk Officer

Prudential Real Estate Investors has named Raimondo Amabile and Andrew Radkiewicz as co-heads of its European business. The company also appointed Philip Barrett as chief risk officer for Europe and Asia. These promotions follow the late 2012 announcement that Eric Adler, who recently became the firm’s global chief investment officer, would oversee PREI’s global investment and risk management processes. Amabile joined PREI in 2012, while Radkiewicz has been on board since 2009. Barrett joined the company in 1999.

Harbor Group International L.L.C. has named Carla Stoner CFO. She will oversee all financial aspects of the company, including reporting, accounting, information technology, human resources, and tax and treasury functions.

Prior to joining Harbor Group, Stoner served as executive vice president & CFO of CW Financial Services. Additionally, she has held executive-level positions with both Olympus Real Estate Partners and Aimco. Before her work in the real estate industry, Stoner served as an auditor at the former Touche Ross (Deloitte). Harbor Group International currently has a portfolio valued at approximately $3.8 billion, owning more than 10.5 million square feet of commercial properties and in excess of 24,500 multi-family units.

Herzog Joins UDR as CFO

UDR Inc. has hired Tom Herzog to serve as the CFO & senior vice president of the multi-family REIT. He comes to the firm from Amstar, a Denver-based real estate investment firm, where he was CFO. Herzog certainly has the credentials to be a player in the public REIT sector, with CFO stints at two S&P 500 companies, HCP Inc. (2009-2011) and AIMCO (2005-2009). Prior to his CFO experience, Herzog held the position of chief accounting officer at AIMCO, and served as an executive with GE Real Estate for four years.

C&W Appoints Busi to Head Valuation & Advisory Group

Cushman & Wakefield Inc. has promoted Josh Busi to global head of the firm’s valuation & advisory group. The advancement means that Busi will assume leadership responsibility for the overall business objectives, recruitment goals and growth of services for the firm’s 99 valuation & advisory officers throughout the world. Busi joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1981 in the firm’s property accounting group in New York, and was promoted to head of the New York valuation & advisory practice in 1990.

Cotman Joins Cassidy Turley as SVP of Strategy

Cassidy Turley has hired Cathrine Cotman as senior vice president of strategy. She will serve the company’s SunTrust account, leading portfolio optimization efforts as the bank seeks to transform its 15 million-square-foot corporate real estate footprint. Cotman will be based in the firm’s Charlotte, N.C., office. She joins the firm from Bank of America, where she led a workplace strategy and planning team overseeing a 100 million-square-foot portfolio.

McAuliffe to Lead CBRE M-F Investment Sales

Brian McAuliffe has rejoined CBRE Ground Inc. as senior managing director of the company’s multi-housing group. He had previously spent more than two decades—from 1983 to 2005—at CBRE representing institutional investors and public companies in multi-family transactions totaling approximately $4 billion. Before that, he was managing director of RREEF’s transactions group. He also served as a chair of RREEF’s investment committee, which facilitated more than $20 billion in property acquisitions and more than $17 billion in dispositions during his tenure.

Herren Joins Behringer Harvard as Institutional Sales Director

Casey Herren has joined Behringer Harvard as institutional sales director for the western region. He is tasked with developing institutional-channel distribution strategies for the existing and expanding product portfolio. Herren has more than 10 years of experience managing and servicing investment relationships, new business development and strategic markets. He joined the firm from Dallas-based Highland Capital Management L.P., a credit hedge fund, where he served as the director of business management.

Uranowitz Named President of Gebroe-Hammer Associates

Ken Uranowitz has been named president of Livingston, N.J.-based Gebroe-Hammer Associates, an investment brokerage firm that specializes in multi-family sales. The 37-year industry veteran has risen through the ranks since being hired at the age of 20 by the firm’s founders at Gebroe-Hammer’s inception in 1975. Under Uranowitz’s guidance, the firm recently closed out a record third quarter with 30 multi-family deals totaling 1,000 units and valued at more than $100 million.

Transwestern Hires Mid-Atlantic Government Services Team

Transwestern has expanded its Mid-Atlantic service offering with the addition of a government services team. Peter Marcin and Matt Lynch will now serve as leaders of the government services group based in Washington, D.C. Marcin was previously the executive director & head of Cushman & Wakefield Inc.’s federal practice group, and has been lead broker in more than 10 million square feet of office lease transactions for the government. Lynch has more than 15 years of experience as an attorney and real estate broker, having previously served with the federal practice group at Cushman & Wakefield. He also spent 10 years with the GSA, where he ran the automated advanced acquisition program.

William Talbot

American Campus Communities has promoted William Talbot to chief investment officer. He will be tasked with providing strategic direction and executive oversight of the student housing REIT’s investment platform. This includes all acquisition and development activity, as well as dispositions and asset management.

Talbot has served American Campus Communities for more than 11 years, most recently as executive vice president of investments. He joined the group as director of investments in 2001, when the company’s total assets were approximately $250 million. The Houston-based company is now the largest owner of student housing communities in the United States, with $4.5 billion in gross assets.

McCarthy Promoted to Senior Managing Director at Hines

Mary McCarthy has been promoted to senior managing director in Hines’ San Francisco office. She joined the company in 2006 as a member of the capital markets group and recently closed Hines Russia & Poland Fund and Hines U.S. Office Value Added Venture III. She is responsible for maintaining relationships with major U.S. pension consultants and investors, and is a member of the firm’s capital markets committee.

Sidor Joins Cassidy Turley

Carolyn Sidor has joined Cassidy Turley as senior managing director for market development. She will lead the brokerage operations as well as Cassidy Turley’s practice groups, including data center solutions, hospitality, law firms, food and beverage facilities, net lease investment properties and life sciences. Sidor will also lead the firm’s customer relationship management team in developing and implementing CRM tools, and will work with Cassidy Turley COO John Fleury to target and prioritize M&A opportunities and to align IT, marketing and research strategies for growth in local markets. She will be based in Boston.

Avison Young Opens Irvine Office

Avison Young has continued to expand its U.S. footprint with the addition of a fifth location in the Southern California region. The independently owned firm just set up shop in Irvine, Calif. The office will be managed by Alan Pekarcik and Daniel Vittone, longtime players in California commercial real estate who joined the firm from Voit. Combined, the two industry experts have completed industrial and office investment sales and user transactions exceeding 82 million square feet and valued at an aggregate $6.7 billion. Additionally, Avison Young grabbed John Pianta, also previously with Voit, to serve as a senior financial analyst.

Behringer Harvard Hires Watt as EVP

Brad Watt has joined Behringer Harvard as executive vice president for net lease investments. The 25-year veteran of public and private real estate investment programs will be responsible for arranging and distributing a series of high-quality 1031 Delaware Statutory Trust and other private real estate wealth management programs. The net lease platform will be anchored by an investment strategy that focuses on high-quality single-tenant assets leased to investment-grade tenants on long-term double- and triple-net leases. Before joining Behringer Harvard, Watt served in an executive role with a national single-tenant developer.

Sofia Onboard with C&W Retail Team

Jennifer Sofia has joined Cushman & Wakefield Inc. as associate director for retail leasing services. Based in the firm’s East Rutherford, N.J., office, she will focus on providing occupancy solutions to owners. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, she served as asset manager for the property development division of Toys “R”Us Inc., where she managed a portfolio of owned and leased locations in the United States and Puerto Rico.

Prudential Promotes Collett to President of Asset Resources

Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. has named Hal Collett president of Prudential Asset Resources. He replaces Catherine Rodewald, who announced her decision to retire at the end of 2012. Collett will be tasked with the servicing and asset management operations associated with Prudential Mortgage Capital Co.’s commercial real estate loan portfolios, which are valued at $69.4 billion. He joined the company in 2002, and has served in multiple roles within asset resources. He was most recently vice president of asset management and credit surveillance.

Darragh to Oversee GCS in Canada, Latin America for CBRE

CBRE Group Inc. has appointed Alex Darragh to oversee its global corporate services business in Canada, Latin America and the Caribbean. His new role comes after working as the leader of the company’s global corporate services business in the central United States and Canada. Steve Quick will succeed Darragh as the new leader for the U.S. central division. Darragh joined Trammell Crow Co. in 2001 as the alliance director for the firm’s American Express account. Prior to CBRE’s acquisition of Trammell Crow, he was Crow’s international division leader.

Joseph Stettinius Jr.

The board of directors at Cassidy Turley unanimously voted to elevate president Joseph Stettinius Jr. to CEO of the commercial real estate brokerage firm. Stettinius was promoted when Mark Burkhart stepped down; he will continue to serve as an advisor to the company after filling the CEO spot for 20 years.

An industry veteran of 25 years, Stettinius has been president of Cassidy Turley since the company’s launch in 2008. From 2007 to 2010 he was the CEO of predecessor firm Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers. Prior to that, he was senior managing director of CB Richard Ellis Inc., following its acquisition of Trammell Crow Co., where he served as area director for the Mid-Atlantic services business.

Johnson Capital Picks Carnes for President

Johnson Capital has promoted COO Cliff Carnes to the position of president of the commercial real estate capital advisory firm. Carnes’ appointment allows Guy Johnson, who has been doing double duty as both president & CEO, to focus his attention on the company’s growth pursuits and strategic direction in the singular role of CEO. Carnes joined the firm in 2007 as senior vice president of operations, and one year later took the job of COO. As president, Carnes will not only continue his previous duties overseeing the firm’s operations but will also spearhead Johnson Capital’s growth agenda.

McGuinness Named President of Inland

Thomas McGuinness has been appointed president of Inland American Real Estate Inc. by the group’s board of directors. In his new role, McGuiness will oversee the management of the company’s day-to-day operations, including the strategic business plan, investment decisions, asset management and financing functions. He joined the firm in 1982 and has held several executive positions throughout the organization. Inland’s current portfolio totals 48 million square feet, and includes retail, office and industrial properties, as well as 9,563 multi-family units and 17,899 hotel rooms.

Westley Appointed DTZ’s Corporate Services President

Property services firm DTZ, a UGL Company, has appointed Nicholas Westley as president of global corporate services. He will be based at the DTZ global headquarters in Los Angeles. Westley brings more than 25 years of experience in development, transaction management, strategic planning, workplace strategy and account operations to the company. Prior to joining DTZ, Westley led the global real estate and project management services at Johnson Controls. Before Johnson Controls’ acquisition of United Systems Integrators in 2005, he was USI’s chief strategy officer.

Scurtis Made Managing Partner at LYND

Constantine Scurtis has been named a managing partner at LYND, the national real estate investment, development and management firm. Scurtis joined the firm in 2009 as vice president of business development after working with LYND in a consultant role. In his new position, Scurtis will be responsible for managing LYND’s recently opened Miami office and sourcing new real estate opportunities. During his nearly four years at the company, Scurtis has closed more than $500 million worth of acquisition pricing on non-performing loans and REO properties, and created an asset management division to handle all new investments.

Chess Joins Encore Equities as President

Rick Chess has been named president of Encore Equities L.L.C., a subsidiary of Dallas-based Encore Enterprises Inc. With 28 years of securities and commercial real estate experience, Chess has closed $2 billion worth of transactions and raised $270 million in equity for United Dominion Realty, ManEquity, Triple Net and ARCM. As president of Encore Equities, Chess will be tasked with managing the placement of equity for all of Encore’s real estate investments and funds. Prior to joining Encore, Chess was president of American Realty Capital Markets.

A10 Capital Hires Conway as Chief Credit and Risk Officer

A10 Capital has brought former Goldman Sachs Commercial Mortgage Capital co-CEO & chief credit officer Jim Conway into the organization as its chief credit and risk officer. Conway, who has more than 35 years of commercial mortgage experience, held the co-CEO and chief credit officer positions at Goldman Sachs CMC from 1998 to 2010. During that time, he was responsible for closing more than 1,500 commercial mortgages, totaling over $16 billion in loan volume. Prior to that, Conway served as senior vice president of Phoenix Realty Securities. From 1977 to 1995, he worked for Travelers Insurance Co., serving in all areas of the firm’s commercial real estate business.

Neyland Named President of Steadfast Income REIT

Steadfast Income REIT Inc. has announced that Ella Neyland has assumed the role of president at the public, non-traded REIT. She succeeds Rodney Emery, who will remain chairman & CEO of the company’s board. Neyland will also remain a member of the board, but tendered her resignation as chairperson of its audit committee. Neyland has nearly 30 years of experience in the financial and real estate industries. She served three years as executive vice president, treasurer & investor relations officer at UDR Inc. Additionally, Neyland spent four years as a financial advisor for a private real estate acquisitions and development company, where she advised on the acquisition of 43 medical properties with more than 2 million square feet of space in 13 states.

Ward Joins IPA as National Director of Capital Markets

Marcus & Millichap’s Institutional Property Advisors has named Brian Ward national director for the capital markets. He brings 24 years of real estate capital markets, investment management and law experience to the firm. Prior to joining IPA, Ward held the title of chief investment officer at Hendricks & Partners Inc., where he oversaw and led all capital origination and placement functions. Ward is the second major executive appointment at IPA this fall, as Brian Murdy was named national director in September.

Stephen Ross, founder of Related Cos., has stepped out of his CEO shoes and into the role of executive chairman. Ross will continue to spearhead global business strategy and will remain in charge of the multibillion-dollar Hudson Yards mixed-use endeavor in Manhattan. The move, which comes 40 years after Ross established the company, is followed by other big leadership changes.

Jeff Blau, president and 22-year veteran at the company, will become the new CEO. He will be tasked will managing the company, pursuing new development opportunities and overseeing corporate acquisitions and financing activities. He will have help from Bruce Beal, formerly executive vice president, who was pushed up the ladder to the position of president. Additionally, Kenneth Wong moved from vice chairman to COO & director of international development.

First Potomac Names Blocher CFO

Office and industrial owner First Potomac Realty Trust has appointed Andrew Blocker as executive vice president & CFO. In his new role, Blocher will oversee the accounting, capital markets, investor relations, corporate communications and information technology functions. Blocher comes to First Potomac Realty Trust with more than 20 years of finance and capital markets experience, including 15 years in the public REIT sector. He recently served as senior vice president & CFO for Federal Realty Investment Trust.

IPA Appoints Murdy National Director

Institutional Property Advisors has named Brian Murdy national director. He comes to the firm, a multi-family brokerage division of Marcus & Millichap, from Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers, where he served as a portfolio manager. Murdy is a 28-year veteran of the institutional multi-family investment industry and had been with Cornerstone since 1999. He is a board member of the National Multi-Housing Council, a member of the Pension Real Estate Association and a Certified Public Accountant.

Avison Young Buys Starrpoint Commercial, Opens Third L.A. Office

Avison Young has acquired Starrpoint Commercial Partners Inc., a full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm that specializes in the Santa Monica submarket of L.A. The change in ownership brings Randy Starr (the Santa Monica company’s founder & CEO) and Tim Dornan (its principal) into Avison Young’s L.A.-area operations. Starr was named a principal of Avison Young and will lead the company’s expansion in the Silicon Beach area of West L.A. Dorman joins as a vice president for the region.

NGKF Promotes Wootten to Executive Managing Director

Thomas Wootten has been named an executive managing director of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Global Corporate Services. Wootten, who is based in the company’s Denver office, represents national and international clients and specializes in corporate dispositions, asset monetization and financial optimization. He previously served as in-house director of real estate with responsibility for the full regional real estate portfolio of AT&T Broadband/MediaOne and also managed the global portfolio of StorageTek.

Witte Named Senior Managing Director at Hines

Hines has promoted Rob Witte from vice president to senior managing director of the firm’s Dallas office, working out of Chase Tower. Witte joined the company in 1993 and has worked on the development and repositioning of several office assets, including Computer Associates Plaza (Plano), Greenspoint Plaza (Houston) and the Baylor College of Medicine (Houston). Witte’s promotion will now give him oversight of Hines’ Southwest regional land platform, which encompasses more than 2,700 acres. The platform develops single-family lots for private and public homebuilders, and is active throughout Texas and Colorado.

Voit Hires SoCal Regional Director

Voit has named Joe Newman regional director of asset services for Southern California. In his new role, he is tasked with overseeing the company’s asset services operations in Orange County, Los Angeles, San Diego and the Inland Empire. Prior to joining Voit, Newman served as director of CBRE Group Inc.’s San Diego asset services division and downtown brokerage office, where he led a 50-person team that managed a portfolio of 16.5 million square feet throughout San Diego County.

Prudential Mortgage Capital Expands M-F Team

Prudential Mortgage Capital Co. has expanded its multi-family team, naming Patrick McAllister and Laurie Morfin directors of multi-family originations. McAllister, based in the company’s San Francisco office, and Morfin, based in a new Carlsbad, Calif., office, are tasked with originating loans nationally on behalf of the company’s agency lending business, which includes Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. Both hires come from Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, where they were both directors and originators.

Smith Named Managing Director of Hudson Realty Capital

Geoffrey Smith has been named a managing director of Manhattan-based Hudson Realty Capital L.L.C. In his new role, Smith has been tasked with expanding the firm’s lending platform to include more conventional senior and subordinate loans on both transitional and stabilized commercial real estate. Prior to joining Hudson, Smith was managing director of Natixis North America L.L.C. As a senior manager for the U.S. Real Estate Finance Group, he was involved in the development of the company’s structured balance sheet and permanent lending program. Smith previously held similar positions with Morgan Stanley, JP Morgan and Nomura Securities.

Jerry Rappaport

Longtime Boston real estate leader Jerry Rappaport has joined forces with head honchos at Chestnut Hill Realty on a new venture. Rappaport, Chestnut Hill founder & CEO Edward Zuker and managing director Robert Zuker have formed CHR Investors, a CHR affiliate that will center on apartment real estate investment. It will primarily focus on the greater New England region.

Rappaport’s history in real estate investment, development and fund management spans 30 years and includes co-founding New Boston Fund, where he reigned for 18 years. During that time, New Boston Fund raised in excess of $1 billion in equity through various funds and developed or acquired more than 7,000 residential units.

With Rappaport at the helm, CHR Investors will focus its attention on off-market multi-family purchases, relying heavily on his and Ed Zuker’s connections cultivated through The Rental Housing Association and their history in private property rights.

C&W to Buy Cousins’ Third-Party Client Service Group

Cushman & Wakefield Inc. has entered into a strategic agreement to acquire Cousins Properties Inc.’s Atlanta- and Dallas-based third-party client services business. Known as the Client Services Group, the business provides third-party services to owners of Class A office buildings in Atlanta and Dallas, including leasing, property management and project management services. Under the contract, as many as 128 professionals will transition from Cousins Properties to Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Muhlstein Tapped to Head Entertainment at JLL

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has hired Carl Muhlstein to spearhead services for clients in the entertainment and creative sectors. He joins the firm from Cushman & Wakefield Inc., where he most recently held the position of vice chair and had a hand in more than $2 billion worth of transactions over the last five years. Muhlstein brings with him solid support in the form of Hayley Blockley, who previously worked with him as a director of brokerage services at Cushman & Wakefield and will be a senior vice president at JLL.

Hilton Worldwide Names Murphy Chief Investment Officer

Hilton Worldwide has named Bill Murphy as the company’s chief information officer. In his new role, Murphy will be charged with managing Hilton’s global technology team and infrastructure, as well as its technology business partnerships. Previously chief technology officer, he will also retain those responsibilities. Prior to joining Hilton in 2012, Murphy was senior vice president & chief technology officer at Travelport Inc., and before that he had a 22-year career in Plano, Texas, at Perot Systems and Electronic Data Systems in a variety of leadership positions.

A10 Capital Hires Henrich as EVP

A10 Capital has hired David Henrich to head the firm’s business development efforts in the Mid-Atlantic and New England markets. Henrich, who has 22 years of commercial mortgage experience, was formerly employed by NorthMarq Capital. He has also held positions at GE Capital. Henrich will be working out of A10’s Philadelphia office. The company is currently in the process of bringing its $200 million capital fund to bear on the New England market. It is the second such fund it has raised for this purpose since just before the credit crisis hit.

HFF Names Shapiro Director in Atlanta

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has nabbed Gregg Shapiro, a fixture on the local commercial real estate scene, to serve as a director in its Atlanta office. For the most part, Shapiro’s domain will be debt and equity placement transactions. Logistically, his activities will involve markets not just in the Peach State but across the Southeast. Shapiro comes to the firm from SRE Advisors L.L.C., a commercial real estate capital markets advisory business he founded. His history in real estate finance also includes a position as CFO at GDC Properties L.L.C. Shapiro’s entry into the real estate industry occurred at AvalonBay Communities Inc., where he rose to the role of senior director.

Trammell Crow Promotes Saphier, Nims

Trammell Crow Co. has pushed two of its own up the ladder. Adam Saphier has been promoted to president of central operations and Adam Nims moves up to serve as principal of the Austin business unit. A player at TCC since 2005, Saphier previously held the position of managing director in charge of the Dallas-Fort Worth business unit. Nims will focus on development and acquisition projects in the city and across Central Texas. He will also be involved in developing new business and in day-to-day operations. Nims, a six-year TCC veteran, has played a major role in the Austin unit, and previously served as a senior vice president involved in the firm’s healthcare initiative in Dallas.

Ivy Joins Interstate as EVP

Interstate Hotels & Resorts has hired Christopher Ivy as executive vice president of development and acquisitions. In his new role, Ivy will focus on sourcing business development projects within the select service sector. He joins the group from Hyatt Hotels Corp., where he was most recently senior vice president of real estate and development. During his seven-year tenure at Hyatt, Ivy also launches the select-service platform outside the United States. Ivy served as a vice president of lodging development for Marriott International Inc. before joining Hyatt.

Apartment investment and operations firm Archstone has promoted Charles Mueller to president & COO. Mueller had held leadership roles at Archstone since 1994, and has worked as the company’s COO since 2007 while retaining responsibilities as CFO, a position he took in 1998. Mueller received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in real estate and finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

The company has also hired Webster Neighbor as its CFO. Neighbor comes to the firm from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he most recently worked as senior vice president. During his time with Lehman Brothers, Neighbor completed more than $30 billion worth of public and private real estate transactions. He was also responsible for managing Lehman’s investments in Archstone after the company’s privatization in 2007. Neighbor holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University and a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Finance with an emphasis in Real Estate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

CBRE Makes Four Big Moves

CBRE Group Inc. has announced that Calvin Frese will step into the position of CEO of the company’s Americas business, its largest operating unit. The group also announced that Mike Lafitte will serve as global president of CBRE Services. Chris Kirk, CBRE’s global director of human resources, has also moved up and is now the firm’s chief administrative officer. The firm has tapped Laura O’Brien to take on the post of global director of human resources and workplace strategy.

NGKF Bolsters Midwest, Las Vegas Offices

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has promoted and added key personnel in its Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas offices. Four changes took place in the three Midwestern offices, with new executive managing directors including Robert Nosal in Cleveland, Frederick Liesveld in Detroit and Gerald McLaughlin and Louis Oliva in Pittsburgh. In Las Vegas, John Knott and Michael Parks joined the NGKF operation.

Morris Named Wells Chief Real Estate Officer

Wells Real Estate Funds has named Patricia Morris chief real estate officer. She will replace Don Henry, who is resigning after 10 years of service. Morris was previously the managing director of asset management at Wells. She has more than 25 years of experience in the sector and joined the firm in 2003 from Prudential Real Estate Investors, where she worked as director of asset management and as a portfolio manager.

Kevin Smith Joins CAPREIT as SVP

CAPREIT Inc. has hired Kevin Smith as a senior vice president. Smith, who has 18 years of real estate experience, comes to the firm from Centerline Capital Group, where he held the title of director of mortgage banking. Smith has also served as a managing director at Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. and as president of ARK Realty Capital. In his new role, Smith will work to manage the existing debt/equity relationships and source large individual or portfolio acquisitions.

Berkeley Point Capital Hires McDevitt as President

Commercial real estate finance veteran Jim McDevitt has been named president of Berkeley Point Capital. McDevitt, most recently an executive vice president & head of correspondent development for Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, will be responsible for day-to-day operations, including the firm’s production, underwriting and closing activities. Other executives also recently joining the firm are Bill Mott and Stephan Gianoplus, managing directors; Ira Strassberg, CFO; Anurag Saksena, chief risk officer; and Joseph Turitz, general counsel & corporate secretary.

Colliers Names McKenna EVP

Colliers International has named Kevin McKenna executive vice president in the industrial specialty, based in the firm’s Ontario, Calif., office. McKenna has completed more than $3 billion worth of real estate transactions in his 25-year career. He joins Colliers from CBRE Group Inc., where he served as executive vice president. McKenna holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Southern California. He serves on the boards of SIOR and NAIOP.

Voit Adds Las Vegas Office Team

The Cayton Office Team, which is led by Jayne Cayton and recognized as a top-producing brokerage team in the Las Vegas market, has joined Voit Real Estate Services’ Las Vegas office. The addition falls in line with the firm’s ongoing strategy to have top teams for each product type in the Las Vegas market. The team includes Jayne Cayton and Paula Lea. Cayton, who joins the firm as vice president, has more than 12 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Prior to joining Voit, she served as vice president at CBRE Group Inc. Lea, who joins Voit as an associate, was also with CBRE. The two have partnered since 2010.

Paul Marko

Stiles Names Marko President

Paul Marko has taken on the role of president at Stiles Realty, the brokerage and leasing division of top Florida commercial real estate services company Stiles. He will step into the shoes of Stiles Realty’s longtime president, Tom Kates, who is retiring after 27 years with the firm.

Marko comes to the firm from CBRE Group Inc., where he spent the last 12 years of his two-decade career as a first vice president. In his new role, Marko will work to enhance Stiles Realty’s presence across the Sunshine State while also increasing its foothold in core South Florida markets. Miami-Dade is high on the radar for expansion, as is West Palm Beach.

Alegre to Lead Colliers’ Valuation, Advisory Services Business

Ed Alegre has joined Colliers International as president of the valuation and advisory services division in the United States. Based in Irvine, Calif., the 25-year industry veteran will coordinate the service division’s efforts with the global organization. Prior to joining Colliers International, Alegre served as executive managing director at Grubb & Ellis Landauer. Earlier in his career, Alegre held executive and senior leadership positions working for CB Richard Ellis Group Inc. and Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

Kinton Appointed Senior Director at Lee & Associates

Lee & Associates has appointed Kyle Kinton as the newest senior director of the company’s Atlanta office. Kinton, who has been in the industry for more than 40 years, brings a background focused on industrial and land transactions. During his career, Kinton has sold more than 16,000 acres of land and leased and sold more than 14 million square feet of industrial space. Prior to joining Lee & Associates, Kinton spent five years with Commercial & Industrial Real Estate and did stints at Adam Cates Co., Grubb & Ellis Co. and CB Richard Ellis Group Inc.

NGKF Names Two Directors

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has named Noah Shlaes senior managing director and Michael McDermott director of its Global Corporate Services consulting group. Shlaes and McDermott were both with Grubb & Ellis Co. Shlaes was managing director of the strategic consulting group, while McDermott worked to help expand Grubb & Ellis’ client base by aligning the needs of corporate owners and tenants.

JLL Picks Up Self Storage Experts

Steve Mellon and Pete Williams have joined Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. as managing directors of the firm’s capital markets business to broaden offerings in the sale of self-storage facilities. Both come from Grubb & Ellis Co. Mellon specializes in acquisitions and dispositions and was a director of the self-storage group at Grubb & Ellis Co. for three years. Williams has been a developer, owner and operator, as well as an investment sales specialist. Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis Co., Williams was the founder & CEO of Premier Storage Solutions.

Saksena Joins Berkeley as Chief Risk Officer

Anurag Saksena has joined Berkeley Point Capital L.L.C. as its chief risk officer. He comes to the company from Global Risk & Capital Advisors L.L.C., an independent risk consulting firm that he founded in 2010. From 2005 through 2010, Saksena also served as chief enterprise risk officer for Freddie Mac. Prior to Freddie Mac, Saksena led enterprise risk management for GMAC, the financial services arm of General Motors. In his new role, Saksena will be responsible for leading enterprise-wide risk strategy.

Costello to Head Ernst & Young’s Global RE Advisory Practice

Mark Costello has been appointed the global leader of Ernst & Young’s Real Estate Advisory Practice. He previously worked as the managing partner of Ernst & Young’s Americas Construction & Real Estate Advisory Service (CREAS) practice. Costello has more than 30 years of experience under his belt. During his leadership role at CREAS, Costello built and led a practice that now has nearly 100 employees.

Lipton to Run New Mohr Office in Detroit

Mohr Partners Inc. has opened a new office in Detroit and appointed Mitchell Lipton as managing principal. Prior to joining Mohr Partners, Lipton served as an executive vice president of Friedman Integrated Real Estate Solutions and as a principal in Newmark Knight Frank’s Detroit office. He will continue to serve on Friedman’s executive board but will no longer take on active brokerage listings for the firm. Managing partners Randy Tarnow and Steve Morris will join Lipton in the Detroit office.

Jones Lang LaSalle Hires Milkovich

Bob Milkovich has joined Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. as president of Spaulding & Slye Investments. Based in Washington, D.C., Milkovich will lead the firm’s in-house investment group, which identifies and executes investment and development strategies for Jones Lang LaSalle’s employees and clients. Milkovich brings two decades of real estate investment experience to the position. He most recently worked as the regional director for the Middle Atlantic and Southeast regions for the Archon Group.

Choice Hotels International Inc. has big plans for the expansion of its Cambria Suites brand and industry veteran C.A. Anderson is now a significant part of the endeavor. Choice Hotels recently selected Anderson to serve as vice president of development for the lifestyle hotel brand.

Anderson brings to the table more than three decades of experience that he will rely on in his new position as a major player in the growth of Cambria Suites. He will spearhead strategic development of the brand, a responsibility that will include managing the franchise sales team in the origination and execution of new strategies for the expansion of the seven-year-old brand’s footprint in core markets across the country.

Anderson is well-armed for the task. He comes to Choice Hotels after having held the positions of president and chief operating officer of The Dow Hotel Co. He has also served in senior roles at Interstate Hotels & Resorts Inc., Cornerstone Real Estate Advisers Inc. and Red Lion Hotels Inc.

Cambria Suites is already in growth mode and Anderson is tasked to bring the program to new levels. All told, 26 hotels are in various stages of development. The company broke on a new property in Miami and work will get underway on a hotel in Washington, D.C. before year’s end. Additionally, New York City will see two Cambria Suites. In Pittsburgh, a property has already opened its doors, marking the 19th Cambria Suites hotel presently in operation for an aggregate 4,600 guest rooms.

CBRE Group Inc. has just pushed a handful of its leaders up the ladder. The commercial real estate services recently revealed that Calvin Frese will step into the position of CEO of the company’s Americas business, Mike Lafitte will serve as Global President of CBRE Services and two additional company veterans will take on new roles.

Sometimes the best people for the job are right under your nose. “The appointments underscore CBRE’s focus on careful, well-thought-out succession planning at all levels of the organization,” a CBRE spokesperson told CPE. “We place great emphasis on having the right people in the right positions.”

The promotions come on the heels of CBRE’s announcement of its CEO succession plan in May. Current CEO, Brett White, will retire at the end of the year and Robert Sulentic, company president, will step into White’s shoes. Now the succession planning continues.

Cal Frese

Frese has cultivated a background at CBRE that will serve him well as CEO of the Americas Business. At the firm, he has held such high-level positions as group president of Global Services, chief operating officer of the Americas region and president. He has a strong history of leadership with the company. His name is attached to such transactions as CBRE’s 2003 acquisition of Insignia/ESG and its 2006  purchase of  Trammell Crow Co. “There is tremendous growth potential in the Americas, and it is essential that we have a strong leader with a proven ability to maximize our opportunity in this region; Cal is such a leader,” Sulentic said.

Mike Lafitte

Lafitte moves from President, Americas, to global head of CBRE services, a job that gives him executive responsibility for the firm’s service-company operations from the Americas to the EMEA region to Asia Pacific. He is also tasked with overseeing operations for Global Corporate Services. His previous work includes leading CBRE’s Asset Services business in the Americas and Global Corporate Services, and serving as President of Global Services for Trammell Crow Co., prior to CBRE’s acquisition of the firm. He brings to the table a history of nearly three decades in the commercial real estate industry.

Chris Kirk

Chris Kirk, CBRE’s global director of human resources has also moved up and is now the firm’s chief administrative officer. With executive responsibility for key Shared Services functions, he will have a close eye on sourcing & procurement, information technology and corporate communications. Additionally, he will supervise the firm’s program management office, human resources and workplace strategy and global research. In addition to having served as global director of human resources, Kirk has held the titles of chief operating officer and general counsel at Trammell Crow.

Laura O’Brien

CBRE has also tapped Laura O’Brien to take on the post of global director of human resources and workplace strategy, moving forward from her previous position of senior vice president, global facilities and special projects. O’Brien will spearhead CBRE’s worldwide human resources operations, a job that will give her a significant place in the lives of 34,000 employees. She will manage a long list of vital procedures in the areas of employee relations, staffing and recruitment, training and professional development, diversity and compensation and benefits.   Her responsibilities will also extend to global facilities. O’Brien’s diverse background with CBRE renders her well-armed for her new role. Her background at the firm includes sales, an area in which she served as senior vice president.

Louis Oliva

In moves designed to prepare for shifts in the manufacturing sector and other long-term economic trends, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has promoted and added key personnel in its Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas offices, the company announced Monday.

Four changes took place in the three Midwestern offices, with new executive managing directors including Robert Nosal in Cleveland, Frederick Liesveld in Detroit, and Gerard McLaughlin and Louis Oliva in Pittsburgh. In Las Vegas, John Knott and Michael  Parks joined the NGKF operation.

Nosal has more than 28 years of experience in the sale and leasing of office properties and in tenant representation. He previously served the director of the Cleveland office’s office group and from 2008 to 2010 as the company’s national healthcare practice group leader.

Liesveld joined DeMattia Group as a sales associate in 1987 and later served as director of sales and marketing for Ronnisch Construction Group in Royal Oak, Mich. He is a Member of the Association of General Contractors.

A Grubb & Ellis Co. veteran, McLaughlin has completed transactions valued at more than $1 billion and totaling several hundred million square feet, primarily in the Pittsburgh office market. In the past 18 months, he has been involved in leasing more than 600,000 square feet.

Oliva is an industrial specialist and  was one of Grubb & Ellis Co.’ s top national producers.  He has participated in the sale or lease of more than 35 million square feet of office and industrial property and more than 50 million square feet of development property, totaling more than $1 billion in value. He has been recognized more than a dozen times by the Pittsburgh chapter of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors for completing the largest industrial property transaction of the year.

Knott and Parks founded CBRE Group Inc.’s global gaming group, based in the firm’s Las Vegas office. Between them, Knott and Parks have completed more than $3 billion in gaming property and land sales, including the Las Vegas Hilton, Sahara, Caesars Tahoe, Flamingo Laughlin, Trump Marina in Atlantic City, Fitzgeralds and, most recently, Boomtown in Reno.

NGKF president James D. Kuhn discussed with Commercial Property Executive some of the strategic rationale for strengthening these specific offices and regions.

Rising wage rates in China are among the global trends expected to drive a resurgence of the U.S. manufacturing sector, he said. As an example, Kuhn cited Airbus’ recently announced plans to build a $600 million plant in Mobile, Ala., that will produce A320-series jetliners.

And as that resurgence takes hold, Kuhn said, NGKF wants to be positioned to take advantage of it, hence its investment in manufacturing centers like Pittsburgh, Cleveland and Detroit. Though he declined to predict a time frame for a full upturn, he noted, “You have to think five years out.”

Similarly, as state budgets continue to be crunched, he said, expect even more of them to legalize gambling. In addition, he predicted, both Las Vegas and Phoenix will come back in the longer term, as their housing woes gradually abate.

]]> http://www.cpexecutive.com/regions/midwest/ngkf-bolsters-midwest-las-vegas-offices/feed/ 0 http://www.cpexecutive.com/finance/berkeley-point-capital-names-jim-mcdervitt-president/ http://www.cpexecutive.com/finance/berkeley-point-capital-names-jim-mcdervitt-president/#comments Thu, 19 Jul 2012 13:33:40 +0000 MichaelR http://www.cpexecutive.com/?p=1004043257 By Gail Kalinoski, Contributing Editor

Jim McDervitt

Berkeley Point Capital L.L.C. has been adding executives to its ranks for the past several months, capping it off this week with the news that CRE veteran Jim McDevitt had been named president.

McDevitt, most recently an EVP and head of correspondent development for Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, will report directly to Berkeley Point CEO Jeff Day. He will be responsible for day to day operations, including the firm’s production, underwriting and closing activities.

As group head of commercial mortgage banking and multifamily capital at Wells Fargo, McDevitt managed the firm’s Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac, FHA, life company, conduit and bank permanent debt placement activities. While serving as senior vice president and national head of production for the Wells Fargo CMBS platform, McDevitt headed up the acquisition of three mortgage banking companies – Reilly Mortgage Group, Towle Financial Services/Midwest, Inc. and Bloomfield Acceptance Company. Before joining Wells Fargo, McDevitt had various roles at CB Richard Ellis and Colliers International, both in Sacramento, Calif.

“Berkeley Point is pleased to add such a seasoned and experienced leader to its executive team,” Day said. “Jim will be an invaluable partner to me and our executive team as we implement our strategic plan under our new ownership.”

Other executives also recently joining the firm are Bill Mott and Stephan Gianoplus, managing directors; Ira Strassberg, CFO; Anurag Saksena, Chief Risk Officer, and Joseph Turitz, general counsel and corporate secretary.

Based in Bethesda, Md., Berkeley Point is a national multifamily capital solutions provider. It is owned by entities affiliated with Ranieri Real Estate Partners L.P., and WL Ross & Co. L.L.C. The firm, formerly known as Deutsche Bank Berkshire Mortgage, was acquired in March from Deutsche Bank. Day was also DBBM’s CEO. Berkeley Point has a servicing portfolio of over $29 billion representing more than 2,100 loans in most of the United States and Washington, D.C. The firm has nearly 200 employees in nine offices, including Boston, Dallas, Los Angeles and Seattle.

Recent deals include providing a first mortgage to refinance Gables Summerset, a 752-unit multifamily community in San Diego that was structured under a Freddie Mac program and a $30 million first mortgage to refinance Paradise Cove Mobile Home Park, a 256-unit manufactured home community in Malibu, Calif., through Fannie Mae.

Robert Sulentic

CBRE Group Inc. has announced that Brett White will retire as CEO effective Dec. 31, 2012. Robert Sulentic, who currently serves as president, will then fill the firm’s top post. As president, Sulentic has held direct responsibility for all of the company’s business lines and operating segments since 2009. He also served as the company’s CFO beginning in 2009, and previously worked as group president with responsibility for the EMEA and Asia-Pacific regions, as well as development services. Sulentic joined the company in 2006 with the acquisition of Trammell Crow Co.

White was re-elected to the company’s board of directors at its annual shareholders’ meeting in May, and will remain on the board following his retirement from the firm. White joined CBRE’s predecessor company, Coldwell Banker Commercial, as a sales trainee in 1984. The company has grown from 9,300 employees to nearly 34,000 since he was named president in 2001.

Sperry Van Ness Names Chief Platform Officer

Diane Danielson has been named the first chief platform officer at Sperry Van Ness International Corp. The former attorney and published author will serve the organization in leadership, business development and growth capacities. Danielson was most recently providing consulting services to companies on growth strategies that integrate technology platforms with marketing and business development outreach. Her past positions include vice president of business development for corporate services and strategy at Spaulding & Style Colliers, which was acquired by Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in 2005.

Peterson to Lead New HFF Office

Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. has expanded its presence in Florida by opening an office in Orlando. Senior managing director Brad Peterson, who was formerly in the firm’s Miami office, will handle the day-to-day operations of the Orlando office, which will focus on debt, equity placement and investment sales. Manny de Zárraga, an executive managing director who manages the Miami office and oversees the overall Florida market, will also oversee the expansion into Orlando.

Baccile Joins UBS as Global RE Head

Peter Baccile has joined UBS as global head of real estate, leisure and lodging. He comes to the Switzerland-based financial-services company from JPMorgan Chase & Co., where he most recently served as a vice chairman. Baccile has also held past roles as the global head of real estate at Chase Manhattan and head of real estate M&A at J.P. Morgan & Co.

Miller to Head JLL inCanada

Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has tapped Brett Miller to serve as the new president of the commercial real estate firm’s operations inCanada. Miller joined the company from CBRE Group Inc., where he ran the firm’s Eastern Canada division for more than a decade as regional managing director. Prior to that, he ran the business division of News International Newspapers inLondon.

MB Real Estate Names Purcell COO

MB Real Estate has promoted Kevin Purcell to the position of executive vice president & COO. He was previously executive vice president & managing director of asset management. Purcell, who joined MB Real Estate in 1995, will now be responsible for overall operations, service delivery and client relations.

Mason Joins C&W to Lead Healthcare Group

Dr. Scott Mason has joined Cushman & Wakefield Inc. as executive managing director and leader of the company’s healthcare practice group in theAmericas. Mason, a board-certified hospital administrator, has more than 25 years of healthcare experience and has provided advice and transactional oversight to over 400 hospital and health-system clients in 40 states.

Growth in demand for healthcare and seniors housing financing has prompted Red Capital Group L.L.C. to expand its platform in two sectors, and the debt and equity capital provider has tapped industry veteran Kathryn Burton Gray to lead the charge.

“The seniors (sector) is a huge opportunity platform to expand. There is significant growth and a lot of customers looking for seniors finance, with the Baby Boomers coming up in the next 15 years,” William Meyer, a vice president with Red Capital, told Commercial Property Executive. “We’ve had a very established platform, and this is a great opportunity to expand that and grow into the existing need and the future need that we anticipate.” Red Capital’s business centers on providing financing to the seniors housing and healthcare industries, as well as the multi-family and student housing sectors.

During the past year, the firm’s seniors housing group has been quite active, having provided nearly $600 million in new Fannie Mae, Freddie Mac Seniors and FHA loan originations. It is now targeting approximately $900 in new agency originations and bridge loans in the seniors housing and healthcare sectors.

Gray is well qualified to spearhead the effort. She joins Red from CIT’s healthcare unit, where she held the position of senior managing director, and brings to the table a quarter-century of experience in the industry. “We’re really interested in her business development expertise and her expertise on the balance-sheet lending side, which is a unique piece of our product stack,” Meyer said.

RED shareholders are placing balance-sheet lending high on their list for expansion. “One of our biggest selling points is our unique ability on our balance-sheet side and the apparent commitment to support. That is huge–that’s what makes us unique from a lot of other lenders.”

There appears to be no end in sight to Toronto, Ont.-based Avison Young’s growth spurt in the U.S.  Canada’s largest independent commercial real estate services company just opened its first office in Pittsburgh, Pa., marking the debut of its 15th location in the U.S.

Since embarking on its expansion plan three years ago, Avison Young has been moving full steam ahead. It’s been a busy year for the firm, which has set up shop in several primary and secondary markets across the country. Within the last three months alone, new office have sprouted up in San Francisco; New York City; Charleston, S.C.; Reno, Nev.; Bethesda, Md., in suburban Washington, D.C. And with six more months left in the year, there is more to come.

“I think you’re going to see at least another two East Coast office pretty shortly, and then the last city that’s on our agenda is Denver, between  now and the end of the year,” Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young, told Commercial Property Executive. “We’re working on several acquisitions of offices right now. We’re just really busy; we’re taking up appropriately the right amount of time and there will be a number of announcements between now and end of summer.”

Leading of Avison Young’s new Pittsburgh team is George “Duke” Kingsley, who will hold the titles of managing director and principal. Kingsley, an industry player for nearly the last 40 years, comes to the firm from Grubb & Ellis Co., where he served as senior vice president. He will be assisted in his efforts to penetrate the Pittsburgh-area market by principals Bradley Totten and James Kelly. It’s a veritable Grubb & Ellis reunion; like Kingsley, Totten and Kelly both hail from the firm that is newly part of Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. They bring to the table a respective 28 and 35 years of experience.

CBRE Group Inc.’s loss is Stiles Realty’s gain, as Paul Marko prepares to take on the role of president at Stiles Realty, the brokerage and leasing division of top Florida commercial real estate services company Stiles. He will step into the shoes of Stiles Realty’s longtime president, Tom Kates, who is planning to retire after 27 years with the firm.

Marko, who spent the last 12 years of his two-decade career as a first vice president at CBRE, will have his hands full spearheading Stiles Realty’s expansion in the Sunshine State. “Our vision is to grow the brokerage business, with a focus on third-party business,” Marko told Commercial Property Executive. “I know that’s been a strategic focus for Stiles before I got here, but now with me in place, I think they have the right tools to execute that part of the business here.”

The goal is to enhance the firm’s presence across Florida while also increasing its foothold in core South Florida markets. Marco will lead the effort, concentrating on bolstering operations, broker retention, recruiting and professional development.  Miami-Dade is high on the radar for expansion, as is West Palm Beach. Tampa and Orlando will see more of Stiles Realty as well.

Timing is always key. South Florida certainly did not escape the real estate downturn, but the worst appears to be over. “We’re coming out of the soft market that we’ve seen in the last few years,” said Marko. “The market’s conditions are tightening, the demand is there, the rents are ticking up a bit and the concessions are lessening, so we see some great opportunities to expand the third-party service.”

The market, however, is not without its challenges, one of which is that the area has been built out. “We had available land in the past and now we have to focus our efforts on the redevelopment of existing office, industrial, retail complexes and so forth, so I think it dovetails well with the tools that Stiles offers,” he explained.  “We’ll work closely with our realty group; we’ll work closely internally with the development and architecture and construction resources that Stiles has been so successful with for so long.”

Marco will have to juggle more than a few responsibilities, but Stiles leadership is confident that he is equal to the task. “Paul has a deep knowledge of the local market, proven ability to build long-term relationships with clients and track record of success in the leasing and brokerage arena,” Terry Stiles, CEO of Stiles, noted. “With him on the team we will be better positioned to take advantage of new market opportunities while also maintaining our reputation as the leading provider of commercial real estate spaces throughout Florida.”

PricewaterhouseCoopers has hired Byron Carlock as the newest member of its real estate team. Carlock’s move follows 11 years with CNL Financial Group, most recently as president & CEO of CNL Lifestyle Properties, a non-listed REIT whose growing portfolio included entertainment and hospitality properties and under his guidance expanded into seniors housing as well. He left CNL last fall and shortly thereafter began talking with PwC about the new move.

Carlock brings a mix of real estate skills to the consulting firm, having spent four years as chief investment officer & executive vice president of public apartment REIT Post Properties, part of the team that worked to expand its urban infill network nationwide, and before that many years with Crow Holdings International, the investment arm for the Crow family in Texas. As managing director of capital markets for Crow Holdings, he directed debt, equity and recapitalization efforts as well as sitting on the investment committee.

The new position, U.S. real estate practice leader, is also new for PwC, one of three designed to coordinate the three areas of the firm’s business—tax, audit and advisory—for clients around the world and to help ease the flow of international funds into real estate. Carlock reports to Barry Benjamin in the national financial services practice. The other positions oversee the European and Asian markets; Kees Hage was already serving in this role for the European market, while the third role is still to be filled.

I think real estate is the new gold, observed Carlock, noting investors’ increased interest in real estate as the capital markets improve. I think we’re entering a new era of optimism for this industry. While multi-family has been everybody’s darling for some time now, he pointed to a growing interest in industrial property as an investment target, and indeed investment across all the core asset classes in the top 10 U.S. cities and in some cases in the top 20, especially those with an economic base in energy or technology, according to Emerging Trends research. Distressed debt continues to offer an opportunity, though foreclosures have waned recently and special servicers have been offering the property at less of a discount.

Arthur Mirante

Canada’s Avison Young has opened its first office in New York City, and Arthur Mirante is leading it. Mirante, who has been named both a principal & tri-state president, spent 40 years at Cushman & Wakefield Inc., 20 of them as CEO, growing the firm’s revenue from $100 million to $1 billion and finishing his tenure as president of global development.

Mirante is known for such New York City mega-deals as the $1.7 billion sale of 200 Park Ave. on behalf of MetLife in 2007 and the even larger $1.8 billion 666 Fifth Ave. acquisition in 2005. At Avison Young, he will work with principal Greg Kraut to expand the firm’s presence in the city.
The New York office marks Avison Young’s 13th location outside of Canada. The firm now operates 30 offices with more than 900 real estate professionals in 27 U.S. and Canadian markets.

D’Arcy Named CEO at ARC Healthcare

Thomas D’Arcy has joined American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust Inc. as CEO. The former CEO of Grubb & Ellis Co. joined the trust from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. He has more than 25 years of leadership experience, serving as a principal of Bayside Realty Partners, president & CEO of Equity Investment Group and chairman & CEO of Bradley Real Estate Inc.

Flynn Joins C&W as N.J. Senior Director

Kenneth Flynn has joined Cushman & Wakefield Inc. as a senior director based in the firm’s Morristown, N.J., office. He is a 20-year veteran of commercial real estate and has completed more than 500 transactions, representing more than 8 million square feet of space. He was most recently a senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.

Voit Adds Retail Team

Voit Real Estate Services has added a three-member retail team to its Inland Empire office. Tom Swieca, Tony Archer and Sandie Smith will join the firm as senior vice presidents. Each has more than a decade of experience in tenant representation, as well as in shopping-center leasing and sales, in Riverside and San Bernardino counties.

ARA Names Schulman President

Atlanta-headquartered ARA has hired David Schulman as president. He joins the firm with more than 30 years of industry experience, having previously served in senior-level roles at Regency Centers Corp., The Shopping Center Group and Noro Realty Services. From 2005 to 2010, Schulman served as president & CEO of Chain Links Retail Advisors. In his new role, he will lead ARA’s strategic plan and growth initiatives.

Torregrossa Named SVP at Moody Rambin

Terri Torregrossa has been promoted to senior vice president of the office-services division at Moody Rambin, the largest locally owned full-service commercial real estate brokerage firm in Houston. Torregrossa has more than 20 years of experience and has served as vice president at Moody Rambin for the past eight years. She was one of the firm’s top producers in both 2010 and 2011.

Marshall Becomes Fogelman EVP

Fogelman Management Group has appointed Justin Marshall executive vice president of internal operations. He comes to the firm from Atlanta-based TriBridge Residential Property Management Advisors, where he served as president & COO. Marshall is a 10-year veteran of the multi-family industry, and is also a certified public accountant.

Global brokerage company BGC Partners Inc. continues to build up its BGC Real Estate Capital Markets division with the recent appointment of two senior managing directors, Garett Stoffels and Jonathan Falik. The industry experts join Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, the firm that emerged as a result BGC’s combining of Newmark Knight Frank and the recently acquired former Grubb & Ellis Co.

A veteran of the real estate equity capital markets and advisory world, Stoffels comes to the table with more than 18 years of experience and transactions valued at $125 billion under his belt. He has honed his skills over the years through various leadership positions, having most recently served as global head of Cantor Fitzgerald’s private capital group, where he spearheaded global real estate fundraisings. He has also held top positions in real estate financing at Atlantic-Pacific Capital and Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.

Falik comes aboard NGKF as head of hospitality capital markets. Falik, who also has a history exceeding 18 years in capital markets, has had a hand in hotel transactions totaling more than $25 billion. Like Stoffels, he joins the team from Cantor Fitzgerald, where he headed up the company’s lodging investment banking division. Falik also has a background leading his own firm, JF Capital Advisors, a capital structure and M&A advisory firm. His experience in the lodging industry also includes the role of CEO of Eagle Hospitality Properties Trust, as well as senior officer with Bear, Stearns & Co. Inc.’s real estate and lodging investment-banking group.

It’s been less than two months since BGC closed the acquisition of substantially all of Grubb & Ellis Co.’s assets and proceeded to create NGKF, but the global brokerage firm has wasted precious little time creating a group of top-notch real estate industry all-stars to guide its capital markets platform. Other recent additions to the staff include Kenneth Szady who is now an executive managing director. NGKF has also welcomed capital markets pros Mark Brown, Jeremy Stoler, N. Dante LaRocca and John Tesoriero to the team.

Joseph Coradino will become CEO of Pennsylvania Real Estate Investment Trust on June 7, at the company’s annual shareholders’ meeting. He will succeed Ronald Rubin, who will become executive chairman. Coradino has been with PREIT and its predecessor company for three decades. Since 2004, he has been president of both PREIT Services L.L.C. and PREIT-Rubin Inc. Coradino initially worked for The Rubin Organization as senior executive and, later, as CEO until the firm was acquired by PREIT in 1997. He became chairman of PREIT’s board of trustees in 2011, and is a trustee of ICSC.

MacEachron Joins Rockefeller

The Rockefeller Group has named Daniel MacEachron COO of the firm’s development subsidiary, Rockefeller Group Development Corp. He joins the firm from Hines, where he spent more than 20 years in various positions in Houston, New York and San Francisco. In 2006, he was responsible for establishing the first Hines office in India.

Sabatier Named President of Destination Hotels & Resorts

Lowe Enterprises has named James Sabatier president & COO of Destination Hotels & Resorts, the firm’s hospitality-management subsidiary. Sabatier was formerly with Starwood Hotels and Resorts Worldwide, where he oversaw the company’s global investment team as it completed 50 corporate and real estate transactions.

Voit Hires Mark Read

Voit Real Estate Services has hired Mark Read as executive managing director. Read’s primary responsibility in the new role will be to manage and lead Voit’s Irvine, Calif., office. He will also oversee the company’s Orange County, Los Angeles and Inland Empire operations. Read has more than 30 years of experience in commercial real estate, and joins Voit from CBRE Group Inc.

C&W Appoints New EMEA CEO

Cushman & Wakefield Inc. has announced that Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano will oversee the firm’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa as the CEO of Cushman & Wakefield, EMEA, effective July 1. Barel di Sant’Albano was appointed chairman of Cushman’s board of directors in March 2011, and previously served as CEO of Exor, an Italian-based industrial holding company.

Richard Putnam Joins Colliers

Richard Putnam has joined Colliers International as a managing director of the firm’s West Coast capital markets group. He will work to grow investment-sales business in the western region, primarily in institutional office and industrial sales assignments. Putnam previously served as a managing director at RREEF/DB Real Estate, where he was responsible for acquisitions in South Carolina and Denver.

First Washington Realty Names Joshua Brown EVP

Joshua Brown has joined First Washington Realty Inc. as an executive vice president and partner. Brown most recently served as a senior managing director and a member of the management committee of Eastdil Secured. In his nine years at Eastdil, he was involved in more than $20 billion in sales, recapitalizations and discretionary-equity raises.

Grosvenor Names Walters Managing Director in Philly

Grosvenor Fund Management has appointed Chip Walters managing director & head of fund portfolio management in the firm’s Philadelphia office. He will be responsible for the development and management of a perpetual life investment vehicle focused on real estate. Walters joins Grosvenor Fund Management from Prudential Real Estate Investors.

Could Grubb & Ellis 2.0 be shaping up under the American Realty Capital umbrella? Since Grubb & Ellis Co. began its downward spiral toward bankruptcy late last year, ARC has snapped up a few major players from the real estate firm, and Thomas D’Arcy, former Grubb & Ellis CEO, is the latest and one of the biggest. He joins American Realty Capital Healthcare Trust Inc., ARC’s real estate investment offerings, as CEO of its advisor.

D’Arcy is a big fish, indeed; he’s been a prominent figure in commercial real estate for more than 25 years, having held leadership positions at Bayside Realty Partners and Equity Investment Group. He was at the helm of Grubb & Ellis as CEO for the last two-and-a-half years, a period during which the skies darkened for the 53-year-old firm. In 2010, D’Arcy spoke to Commercial Property Executive about his visions for the company, saying that one of his main goals was “to create as much opportunity for the employees of Grubb & Ellis as possible.” And in a rather unexpected way, he has.

As Grubb & Ellis crumbled–BGC Partners Inc. recently completed the U.S. Bankruptcy Court-approved acquisition of the company’s assets and commenced integrating it into Newmark Knight Frank to create Newmark Grubb Knight Frank–many top staff members began to seek employment elsewhere, and more than a few of them found a home at ARC.

Richard Arnitz, former CEO of Grubb & Ellis Capital Corp., then the dealer manager for Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT II, came aboard in January as executive director of its broker dealer subsidiary, Realty Capital Securities, tasked with managing the strategic sales initiatives for ARC Healthcare Trust and American Realty Capital Retail Centers of America. Lavea Thomas and Diana Kearney, both formerly of Grubb & Ellis Capital, joined ARC’s Realty Capital Securities team in December as director of national accounts and chief marketing officer, respectively.

There certainly appears to be a pattern here. “ARC has attempted to hire whomever they could that had some association with the Grubb & Ellis Healthcare REIT,” an industry source told CPE. Grubb & Ellis Healthcare is now Griffin-American Healthcare REIT II Inc., and is co-sponsored by American Healthcare Investors L.L.C. and Griffin Capital Corp. ARC was unsuccessful in its bid for the REIT. “Griffin-American is the leading non-traded healthcare REIT in the market; ARC Healthcare Trust is trying to compete with Griffin-American,” the source said.

D’Arcy has not commented on his new position or goals for ARC Healthcare, but as he shared with CPE in 2010, growing a business is a goal he’s met successfully in the past. “I’ve been the CEO and chairman of two NYSE-traded companies and I’ve built a company from less than $100 million to over a billion-two, and I’ve always done this by being focused on growth,” he said. “I always believe that as long as you’re growing and moving forward, good things are going to happen. You obviously have to do it prudently. You have to do it within your capital structure.”

ARC has not yet revealed an official start date for D’Arcy.

Inland Real Estate Investment Corp. has named Brian Conlon CEO as part of the company’s long-term succession-planning process. Brenda Gujral will continue to serve as president. Conlon will also continue to serve as a director of Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., and as president & director of Inland Securities Corp., where he oversees all capital-raising activities. He joined the firm in 1999 and began his career in the securities industry in 1983.

Gujral will retain her responsibilities as a director of Inland Real Estate Investment Corp., chairman of the board of Inland Monthly Income Trust Inc. and a director of Inland American Real Estate Trust Inc. and Western Real Estate Trust Inc.

Realty Income Elects McKee Non-Executive Chairman

Realty Income Corp.’s board of directors has elected Michael McKee as its new non-executive chairman. Donald Cameron, the company’s current chairman, will retire from the board of directors effective at the board’s meeting in May 2012. McKee currently serves as the CEO of the U.S. business of Bentall Kennedy L.P. Prior to joining Bentall, he served as vice chairman of the board at The Irvine Co.

Simon Joins Kilroy as EVP

David Simon has joined Kilroy Realty Corp. as executive vice president. He comes to the firm from Broadreach Capital Partners, where he served as managing director. In his new role, Simon will be tasked with developing and executing a value-add strategy for Kilroy’s existing 3.4 million-square-foot industrial portfolio, as well as identifying and acquiring value-add opportunities in the greater Los Angeles area.

Collins Becomes Equity Office Regional Operations Director

Equity Office Properties has hired Brian Collins to serve as regional director of operations. He brings more than 15 years of real estate investment management experience to the role. Collins previously served as a director at Long Wharf Real Estate Partners. Prior to that, he was a director involved in asset management at the Fidelity Real Estate Group.

Wells Names Kennedy President & COO

Wells Real Estate Funds has named Robert Kennedy president & COO. In his new role, Kennedy will be responsible for executing corporate strategy and managing the day-to-day business operations of the real estate investment company. Kennedy joined Wells Real Estate Funds in 2009 and most recently served as a senior vice president in product development and special projects. He has more than 20 years of experience in the investment banking industry.

Greystar Appoints Hutchinson Senior Managing Director

Greystar has named Ray Hutchinson as a senior managing director of real estate. He will be based in the firm’s Atlanta office and will oversee property management operations throughout the Southeast, which includes Georgia, Alabama, Tennessee, the Carolinas and Kentucky. Hutchinson was previously a principal & co-founder of Allegiant Residential.

Kaufman Joins KBS as SVP

Randi Kaufman has joined KBS Realty Advisors as a senior vice president & asset manager. She will be responsible for the Northeast region and will be based in New York. Kaufman comes to KBS from Blackrock Inc., where she was vice president & asset manager, responsible for a $500 million portfolio of multi-family units, condominiums and land developments. Prior to that, she was an investment manager for the Hampshire Cos. in Morristown, N.J.

JLL Names Steinbach SVP in St. Louis
David Steinbach, a 10-year veteran of the St. Louis office market, has been promoted to senior vice president at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. As a tenant-representation professional, Steinbach acts as an exclusive advocate in all matters pertaining to his clients’ real estate issues, including early renewals, disposition strategies, lease buyouts and/or subleasing. During his career in real estate, Steinbach has been involved in more than 20 transactions of 50,000 square feet or more. He also focuses on representing landlords in their efforts to market and lease office space. Among his clients is Bank of America Plaza, a 750,000-square-foot, Class A office property in the heart of the St. Louis central business district.

Motoyoshi Joins Cresa San Francisco as SVP
Todd Motoyoshi, with nearly 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, recently joined the Cresa San Francisco office as a senior vice president. Motoyoshi, a resident of San Francisco, most recently served as an executive vice president of Grubb & Ellis’ San Francisco office. Prior to his role at Grubb, he worked at Colliers International, Cornish & Carey Commercial, Studley and the Marcus & Millichap/Ernst & Young Corporate Real Estate Consulting Group. Throughout his career, Motoyoshi has ranked among the leading commercial estate advisors in both the Bay Area and in the country. He has worked on projects totaling more than 6 million square feet, serving clients such as Blackrock, Morgan Stanley, Union Bank of California, The California Culinary Academy, and many major law firms.

Gastineau to Become JLL Managing Director in Atlanta
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc.’s capital markets team has expanded its corporate finance & net lease practice on the East Coast, bringing Shan Gastineau on as a managing director in Atlanta. Gastineau was previously a senior vice president with the firm’s tenant representation group. He will work under the direction of managing director Guy Ponticiello to expand the firm’s ability to serve corporate and single-tenant investor clients in the eastern United States. Gastineau joined the Staubach Co. in 2002, coming to Jones Lang LaSalle when the firm merged with Staubach in 2008. Recently, Gastineau completed in excess of $300 million in transaction volume for occupier and investor clients and received the firm’s top-achiever award for revenue producers from 2004-2011.

MacEachron Becomes COO of Rockefeller Group Development
Daniel MacEachron, a commercial property development executive with more than 30 years of investment and development experience in the United States and abroad, has joined, Rockefeller Group Development Corp., a development subsidiary of The Rockefeller Group, as COO. He will be based in RGDC’s New York headquarters in Manhattan. For more than 20 years, MacEachron was with Hines, where he held positions in Houston, New York, San Francisco and New Delhi, India. Since 2006 he was responsible for establishing the first Hines office in India and leading the effort to get the firm’s first two office development projects in India under construction. MacEachron assumes a new position within Rockefeller, overseeing its New York-area development projects and leasing, as well as the national activities of the asset services and design & construction groups.

Marascuillo Hired as NYC Managing Director
Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. has hired Mark Marasciullo as a managing director in New York. He will serve on the firm’s national-investor client team for the firm’s largest institutional-investor clients. Marascuillo and his team will create client awareness about new market-specific services, and will cross-share opportunities for each client to leverage the firm’s investor business lines expertise, including capital markets, agency leasing and property management, across multiple product types. Marasciullo comes to JLL from New Canaan Partners L.L.C. in New York City, which he founded in 2006. He is the company’s managing principal, and oversaw the acquisition of several assets located in Manhattan.

Wessel Joins Red Mortgage Capital
Brent Wessel has joined commercial real estate lender Red Mortgage Capital L.L.C. as a managing director & commercial/multi-family loan originator. He will be based in the firm’s Newport Beach, Calif., office. Wessel, a seasoned mortgage originator with more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience, will place commercial loans with conduits, banks and insurance companies on a brokerage basis, as well as originate multi-family, seniors-housing and affordable-housing opportunities on the West Coast for Red’s Fannie Mae operations. Previously, Wessel was a regional director for both RBC Capital Markets U.S. and GE Capital Real Estate, where he established and managed the Western region’s CMBS lending platforms.

Cooper to Become Avison Young Principal, Managing Director
Christopher Cooper has joined Avison Young as a principal & managing director of the Southern California region. He will oversee the growth and development of the company’s presence throughout Southern California, including Greater Los Angeles, Ventura County, Orange County and San Diego. He will be based in the company’s Los Angeles West office. Prior to joining Avison Young, Cooper, a 27-year commercial real estate industry veteran, served as CEO of Los Angeles-based Charles Dunn Co., as senior managing director for Cushman & Wakefield Inc. in Los Angeles and as EVP at Jones Lang LaSalle Inc. in Los Angeles.

On Friday, CBRE Group Inc. made four huge personnel pickups, with Harold Holliday, John Fenoglio, David Aaronson and James Richards joining the firm as executive vice presidents. All four will be based in the Houston office and will work on debt and equity-financing deals for clients in the region.

Brian Stoffers, president of CBRE’s debt and equity finance division, called the four “more than industry leaders” and said they were men who “define a culture of collaboration and excellence that lenders and borrowers have appreciated greatly. They join CBRE from Grandbridge Real Estate Capital.

Holliday has nearly 40 years of experience in mortgage brokerage and earned a national reputation as a co-founder of Holliday Fenoglio. Following HF’s acquisition by AMRESCO in 1994, he was charged with growing that firm’s commercial mortgage-banking business. After AMRESCO was sold to Lend Lease in 2000, Holliday joined Live Oak Capital with several former colleagues and partners. Grandbridge acquired Live Oak in 2008 and he served there as a senior vice president. He is a past member of the commercial board of governors of the Mortgage Bankers Association.

Fenoglio, with nearly four decades in the mortgage banking industry, was also a co-founder of Holliday Fenoglio. Under his leadership HF became one of the largest commercial banking firms in the U.S. Following his retirement from that firm in 1998 he became a principal at Live Oak Capital. He has been a guest lecturer at Texas A&M University, Rice University and the University of Texas. He is a member of the Mortgage Bankers Association and the International Council of Shopping Centers.

Aaronson was a top producer at HF with responsibilities including debt originations, joint venture and equity placement, investment sales and investor relations. He was a co-founder of Live Oak Capital. Aaronson has a B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin and has served as a guest lecturer for Rice University.

Richards served 15 years as the managing director of the Houston office of HF. He has been an active originator of commercial real estate transactions in the mortgage banking sector for nearly three decades, and has an M.B.A. from the University of Houston and a B.B.A. from the University of Texas at Austin.

HFF has gone through a number of name changes in its lifetime, with the company first conceived as Fowler, Goedecke & Co. in 1974. In January 1998, all related companies unified under the Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. banner and, in January 2007, the firm went public on the NYSE as HF.

Carlo d'SantAlbano

A year after being named chairman of the board of Cushman & Wakefield Inc., Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano is gearing up to take on another challenge for the world’s largest privately held commercial real estate services firm as he becomes CEO of the firm’s operations in Europe, the Middle East and Africa.

The appointment takes effect July 1, when Paul Bacon, the current CEO of Cushman’s EMEA operations, steps down from that role. Bacon, who has been with the firm since 1984 when it was Healey & Baker, is leaving Cushman in 2013 to start his own company. Until then, Bacon will continue to be a member of Cushman’s EMEA Board and as chair of the boards for Italy, France, Russia and Germany. Bacon will work closely with Sant’Albano on key strategic initiatives.

“(He) has led our EMEA operations during one of the most challenging periods for the real estate industry and during his long career has made an outstanding contribution to the firm,” Glenn Rufrano, global president & CEO of Cushman, said. “We are well positioned to continue growing our business in the EMEA and I look forward to working with (Sant’Albano) and our EMEA board as we execute our growth strategy in the region.”

Bacon said, “It has been a privilege to have played a major role in the growth and expansion of the firm over many years into the leading global force Cushman & Wakefield is today.”

Sant’Albano, formerly the CEO of EXOR, Cushman’s majority holder, has been a member of Cushman’s board of directors since 2007. He was instrumental in EXOR’s acquisition of the major stake in Cushman in March 2007. Since that time, he has been responsible for strategic oversight and implantation of the firm’s global growth plan. Sant’Albano is based out of Cushman’s European headquarters in London. He is a graduate of Brown University and has an MBA from Harvard Business School. His background includes a 20-year investment banking career with firms such as Credit Suisse.

When Sant’Albano was appointed chairman last year, Rufrano cited his “broad international experience, deep client relationships and strong investment background.” Those assets will be even more important as Cushman continues executing its five-year global plan.

In recent months, Cushman has been beefing up its staffing throughout Europe. On March 2, it announced it was expanding its European debt advisory team. In late February, the firm made two senior appointments to its London team, hiring Digby Flower and Andrew Parker from CBRE. Both joined Cushman as partners, with Flower heading up London markets and Parker running the City of London Agency. A day later, the company named two senior directors and partners to jointly lead its property and asset management business in Germany. Nina Jansen is based in Dusselfdorf and Andreas Gast is located in Frankfurt. Both were hired from Jones Lang LaSalle.

Europe is a challenging market now with the sovereign and debt crisis continuing to weaken the economy. But Cushman’s Global Economic Pulse report released Thursday noted that there could be mildly positive growth by the second half of this year.

“While it remains incredibly hard to predict what may happen, the commitment of governments and institutions to resolve the sovereign debt crisis looks increasingly sufficient to keep the Eurozone intact – at least for now,” said David Hutchings, partner and head of Cushman’s European Research Group.

The report cites the Asia Pacific region as “one of the bright spots in the challenging global environment.”

“Increasing intra-regional trade, plus continued economic strength among the region’s powerhouses of China, Indonesia and India should support relatively good growth in the Asia Pacific region,” said Sigrid Zialcita, managing director of research for Cushman’s Asia Pacific region.

While the report noted an overall mixed forecast for markets in the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific, Rufrano said, “There is now a growing sense of constrained optimism, and we anitciapte the global economy to strengthen during the second half of 2012.”

O’Hanlon had previously served on the Behringer Harvard Multifamily REIT II Inc. board of directors. He has more than 30 years of industry experience, most recently serving as president & COO of Billingsley Co. O’Hanlon also served as president & CEO of Inland Western Retail REIT Inc. from 2005 to 2009.

Arbor Promotes Caulfield to COO

John Caulfield has been promoted to COO at Arbor Commercial Mortgage L.L.C. Previously an executive vice president & director of operations, Caulfield will now oversee Arbor’s $5.8 billion multi-family loan servicing portfolio and continue to oversee the sales originations, capital markets and underwriting departments. Caulfield has been with the firm for more than two decades.

Grosvenor Appoints Donohue Head of Asset Management

Grosvenor Fund Management has appointed William Donohue to serve as managing director & head of asset management from the company’s Philadelphia office. He will be responsible for the U.S. real estate assets the firm manages. Donohue has 22 years of experience in real estate acquisitions, asset management, property management and restructurings.

HFF Hires Rizzi as N.Y. Managing Director

Robert Rizzi has joined Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. as a managing director in its New York office. He will focus on equity and joint venture capital, as well as investment sales transactions. Rizzi worked as a managing partner at Broad Street Advisors before joining HFF. In that role, he closed more than $4 billion in transactions since co-founding the firm in 2000.

Eastern Consolidated Names Two Senior Directors

Aliza Avital and Lipa Leiberman have both been promoted to senior directors at Eastern Consolidated from the position of director. Avital has arranged more than 25 deals valued at over $650 million since joining the firm in 2003. Leiberman joined the firm in 2009 and has since sold more than $300 million worth of property.

Christopher Joins CBRE as Vice Chairman

Louis Christopher has joined CBRE Group Inc. as a vice chairman. The 25-year industry veteran was with Cushman & Wakefield Inc., where he served as chairman of the company’s tenant-advisory group. In his new role, Christopher will provide services for the firm’s current and potential real estate users worldwide. He was one of the top 10 brokers at Cushman & Wakefield Inc. for three of the last four years.

M-F Research Firm Hires Walters as COO

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One commercial real estate services firm’s loss is another one’s gain. CBRE Group Inc. has lured industry heavy-hitter Louis Christopher away from Cushman & Wakefield Inc., tapping the longtime real estate broker to play a key role in the firm’s tenant representation activities as a vice chairman.

Christopher comes to CBRE not only with nearly 25 years of experience in commercial real estate, but also with a clear-cut set of goals which are, as he explained to Commercial Property Executive, “to challenge myself, my clients and colleagues to always move the bar higher and never stop improving.”

Before joining CBRE, Christopher served as chairman of Cushman & Wakefield’s tenant advisory gGroup, where he was consistently noticed for stellar achievements. He earned the title of the firm’s top producer in the Greater Washington region for four consecutive years until his departure, and held the position as one of its top 10 brokers globally for three of the last four years.

While Christopher now calls CBRE’s Washington, D.C.-area office home base, his presence in the firm will be far-reaching. He will employ his well-honed skills to provide services for the firm’s current and potential real estate users locally, nationally and globally. “The services business is constantly changing,” Christopher noted. “It is trending toward more specialization but also toward more coordination across disciplines. Big is not by itself better, but in this day and age you do need scale to provide all of the resources corporate and law firm clients demand. I am so excited to be able to offer such a broad service offering with a global footprint.”

With Christopher having successfully delivered for clients through any number of real estate cycles — the good, the bad and the ugly — he is well positioned to identify and accommodate clients’ specific needs as the industry begins to recuperate from the ramifications of the Great Recession. “In this economy, nationally and locally, tenants and corporations want to limit capital expenditures and reduce expense,” he explained. “CFOs want to align their real estate portfolios with their business plan. All challenges can be addressed if a proactive strategy with standards, procedures and protocols is implemented.”

In a prepared statement, John Germano, CBRE executive managing director in the Baltimore/Washington market, said of Christopher, “Lou is the consummate professional with a proven track record of excellence and a strong commitment to providing his clients with the best real estate strategies and services.” CBRE sees him as a perfect fit for the firm, and the sentiment goes both ways.

“CBRE understands the service business — specifically where the occupier business stands today and where it is going,” Christopher said. “CBRE understands the multi-disciplined needs of clients and has invested in a robust global service platform. Management has done a great job of incorporating the best practices of Insignia ES Gordon, and Trammel Crow into the CBRE brand. CBRE’s culture is built around ethics and always putting the best team on the field for the client.”