Cresa has hired Ray Anderson, a longtime consultant for large corporate tenants, to take over as CEO of the commercial real estate brokerage that has aggressively expanded under outgoing leader Tod Lickerman.
Chicago-based Cresa’s board has named Anderson to succeed Lickerman, effective immediately, the company said Tuesday.
The move comes about half a year after Cresa said it was seeking a new CEO to replace Lickerman as part of long-term growth and succession planning. At the time, Lickerman said he planned to transition into an advisory role.
The new CEO will be based in the company’s global headquarters office at 167 N. Green St. in Chicago’s Fulton Market.
Anderson is taking over a brokerage that in recent years has grown significantly through hiring and buying out other companies. Recent acquisitions have included Fischer, Bluechip Insights and Pacific Program Management.
“This is a critical inflection point for the firm as we continue to grow, and he is the right executive to lead our next phase of expansion. Ray’s proven track record in corporate value creation, organizational transformation, and M&A on behalf of corporate clients fits well with Cresa’s occupier advocacy mission,” Cresa Chairman Gary Gregg said in a statement. “His expertise will be a great fit as we pursue additional recruiting and acquisition opportunities as a company. His leadership will be instrumental in our next phase of expansion.”
In the statement, Gregg thanked Lickerman for leading the firm’s “unprecedented growth” and for building a long-term foundation for the company.
Career in consulting
Unlike Lickerman, the new CEO does not come directly from the commercial real estate industry. Anderson’s career has been spent consulting major users of real estate on business strategy, operational improvements and technology adaptation, according to the statement.
Anderson previously served as a senior partner in EY-Parthenon’s value creation group, where he managed enterprisewide changes and mergers and acquisitions for public and private clients. His other employers have included Huron Consulting, where he led the business performance improvement group.
Anderson has a bachelor’s degree from Indiana University, a law degree from Loyola University Chicago and a Master of Business Administration from the University of Chicago. He is an Illinois Bar member and a certified public accountant.
Anderson said he joined Cresa "at such a pivotal moment" for the occupier services firm.
“Our thriving culture and focus on client advocacy uniquely position us to deliver transformational results for occupier clients and set the stage for accelerated strategic growth,” Anderson said in a statement. “I am impressed by Cresa’s culture and client-centric approach to business and look forward to expanding our footprint and enhancing our services and technology platform to better serve our clients.”
Lickerman began serving as interim CEO at Cresa in early 2021 before assuming the permanent role in August of that year. During more than 35 years in the real estate industry, Lickerman has held leadership roles at Cushman & Wakefield, DTZ and JLL. He was global CEO at DTZ from 2013 to 2015.
Lickerman is staying with Cresa as a board member.
Cresa recently promoted two executives to newly created leadership roles: Mark Wanic as president of project management and Tricia Trester as president of global portfolio solutions.