It's time to update those contact managers with CoStar's People of Note, delivering news from the following companies: CB Richard Ellis, Jones Lang LaSalle, UGL Services, Studley, Transwestern and St. John Properties.
This week's People of Note includes the following markets: Atlanta, Baltimore, Denver, National, New York City and Washington, DC.
NATIONAL
CBRE Names President of New Central Division
By Steven Burlison
CB Richard Ellis Group promoted Jack Durburg (pictured, left) to president of the company's central division. This newly formed division encompasses more than 25 offices in nine states and Durburg will be responsible for all lines of business.
Durburg joined CBRE in June 2001 as a managing director and member of the Chicago leadership team. As a Chicago market leader, he oversaw the highly successful integration of the local Insignia/ESG operations, which CBRE acquired in 2003, and the Trammell Crow Co. operations, which CBRE acquired in 2006.
Succeeding Durburg as executive managing director and Chicago area market leader will be Chris Connelly, a 15-year veteran of
commercial real estate who joined CBRE as managing director of the Schaumburg office and the Chicago suburban office brokerage group in January 2004.
CBRE’s new central division will comprise offices in the following local market areas: Chicago, Detroit, Indianapolis, Kansas City, Milwaukee, Minneapolis, all markets in Ohio, Pittsburgh, St. Louis and all markets in Texas, as well as affiliate offices throughout the region. The company’s offices in the East--encompassing markets from New England through Florida--will continue to be led by Jim Reid, president, eastern division.
Editor's Note: CoStar's People of Note is published each Friday covering the latest commercial real estate executive level promotions and new hires. Please click on the headline of each article to jump to full coverage. Follow the news on Twitter @LaurieForbes and @TheCoStarGroup.
WASHINGTON, DC
JLL Hires 2 Financing Experts to Capital Markets Group
Shawn McDonald and Mike Yavinsky joined Jones Lang LaSalle’s Capital Markets practice this week. The commercial real estate investment banking specialists serve as executive vice presidents in the firm’s Washington, DC, office.
McDonald focuses on financing in the multifamily sector. He spent the past decade at Freddie Mac and oversaw apartment property loan originations in 13 states and the District. As a regional director of production and sales, his group’s annual production averaged $4.55 billion over the last few years. Before Freddie, McDonald was director of Affordable Multifamily Transactions for Aimco.
Yavinsky concentrates on real estate investment banking offerings in the region. Before JLL, he served 14-plus years in Walker & Dunlop’s capital markets group where he handled more than $2.0 billion in debt and equity financing throughout the eastern region.
DENVER
CBRE Adds Leader to Critical Environment Practice Group
CB Richard Ellis recruited Pat Lynch as a managing director of its national critical environment practice group. He will work with clients that need data center and mission critical facilities nationwide. He will be based in Denver.
The 20-year commercial real estate veteran’s specialty is international telecommunications and data center development.
He most recently served as managing director of corporate services and director of the national data center group at Grubb & Ellis. His background also includes overseeing site acquisitions, construction and operations of mission-critical assets as a managing director for CRG West/Coresite; an 11-year tenure at Level 3 Communications where he managed a 15 million-square-foot portfolio and served as a global vice president of real estate and facilities; board member for the Rocky Mountain Chapter of CoreNet.
The critical environment practice group manages more than 86 million square feet of Tier I through Tier IV critical facilities and 10 million square feet of raised-floor environments.
WASHINGTON, DC
Tenant Specialists Join UGL Services' Brokerage Team
Industry veterans Sandy Weiss (far left) and Aaron Pomerantz (left) joined the brokerage group of UGL Services. The pair were tapped as senior vice presidents and will work out of the Washington, DC, office of the corporate real estate advisory, facilities and project management services company.
Weiss has 24 years of experience, with a focus on tenant representation in the DC/Northern Virginia market. She spent the past four years at Grubb & Ellis, most recently as a senior vice president. The University of Michigan graduate also served for 15 years at CresaPartners, where she helped to open an office in the District, and was a vice president at The Ezra Co.
Pomerantz, a 17-year veteran, was also a senior vice president at Grubb. His 11-year tenure included representing tenants like T-Mobile, Thompson Media Group, American Institutes for Research and Caplin & Drysdale in the local market. Pomerantz’s background includes six years in Moscow, Russia, advocating for tenants.
ATLANTA
Transwestern Adds to Tenant Advisory Group
By Brandon Young
Transwestern's Tenant Advisory Group expanded with the hiring of Jim Simpson, Harrison Morris, George Cowgill and Adam Simpson. The team is responsible for tenant representation and project management services.
Simpson, formerly with Grubb & Ellis, joined the firm as a senior vice president with 37 years experience in the Atlanta commercial real estate market.
Morris, also from Grubb, joined Transwestern as a senior vice president with 15 years of industry experience.
Cowgill was named project/construction manager and has 16 years of experience.
Simpson was appointed associate vice president of the team.
WASHINGTON, DC
Studley Appoints New Corp. Managing Director
By Omar S. McKeithan
Studley, an international commercial real estate services firm, hired a new corporate managing director--Ben Plaisted.
Previously, Plaisted represented local and national organizations in leasing and sales of
office space while serving as the vice president of Grubb & Ellis in Washington, DC. He has completed more than 2.5 million square feet in tenant rep transactions for clients including T-Mobile, Caplin & Drysdale, Stinson Morrison Hecker LLP, the American Sociological Association and the Center for Global Development.
NEW YORK CITY
CB Richard Ellis Promotes Van Buren
By Jessica Wheeler
CB Richard Ellis promoted Matthew Van Buren to president of the New York Tri-State Region in NYC.
Van Buren joined CB Richard Ellis in January 2006 as executive managing director of CBRE's Midtown Manhattan brokerage division.
Van Buren has 20 years of experience in building and leading sales organizations.
BALTIMORE
St. John Taps Holbrook as Regional Partner
By Kyle Norris
St. John Properties, a Baltimore-based commercial real estate firm, appointed Matt Holbrook, a 20-year veteran, regional partner. In addition to taking on new responsibilities, Holbrook will continue to oversee the everyday duties from his previous role as director of federal programs.
Currently, St. John manages a portfolio consisting of 1.2 million square feet throughout the Maryland counties of Frederick and Montgomery, and in the state of Virginia. Within this portfolio, Holbrook will oversee the development, acquisition, construction, leasing and property management undertakings. In addition to his day to day responsibilities, Holbrook’s duties will also consist of identifying new land, acquisitions, property entitlements and strengthening the relationships between the commercial brokerage community, directing leasing, construction, design and property management.
In his previous position, Holbrook was responsible for The GATE project (The Government and Technology Enterprise), where he will continue his involvement. The project, which is comprised of approximately 600,000 square feet of space, is on 416 acres within Aberdeen Proving Ground.
NEW YORK CITY
Picco Joins UGL Services
By Carol T. Peterson
UGL Services named Gerard Picco as senior vice president in its New York City office. Prior to joining UGL Services, Picco served as a senior vice president at CresaPartners. Picco has more than 26 years of experience in the real estate industry and has also worked with Mohr Partners.
With years of brokerage and national portfolio management experience in office, retail, industrial and warehouse assets, Picco's specialized areas of expertise encompass portfolio value engineering and consulting, new business development, leasing, investment sales and sale leasebacks.
Picco is a member of CoreNet Global, Financial Executives International, the U.S. Coast Guard Auxiliary and the New York Historical Society. He is a graduate of the State University of New York, Fredonia College.
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