Colliers named a new CEO of its commercial real estate business and appointed a head of one of its fast-growing segments as part of a succession plan spurred by a longtime executive's retirement.
The Toronto-based real estate services firm said it appointed Christian Mayer to serve as its global chief financial officer and chief executive of its commercial segment. Colliers also named Elias Mulamoottil as its global chief investment officer and CEO of engineering, a business that the firm has been growing rapidly over the past several years.
“With a combined four decades at Colliers, Christian and Elias bring deep experience, proven leadership and a strong commitment to our enterprising culture,” said Jay Hennick, Colliers’ founder, global chairman and CEO, in a statement. “Their expanded mandates strengthen our largest platforms and ensure continuity as we continue to execute our global growth strategy company-wide."
The major personnel moves are part of a planned transition that coincides with Colliers' announcement that Chris McLernon, CEO of Real Estate Services, will retire at the end of April after a nearly 40-year career with the company.
Colliers has been growing its sales force and expanding its engineering capabilities and other businesses through a string of acquisitions to diversify its revenue stream.
Colliers, the fourth-largest commercial real estate services firm by revenue, tapped Mulamoottil to lead its engineering business as it aggressively grows that group. Already this year, Colliers has expanded its business line through the acquisitions of Bestech Canada and Ayesa Engineering of Spain.
The division also recently acquired Ramos Consulting Services, a California-based engineering and construction management firm that has worked on some of the state's largest transit projects.
Revenue in Colliers' engineering and design division climbed 40% in 2025 to $1.73 billion as the firm acquired several firms around the world. The firm's engineering division provides such services as architecture, consulting, project management and civil engineering to business clients and public agencies.
In Mayer's new role, he will oversee Colliers’ commercial real estate segment and "continue to lead the Company’s enterprise-wide financial strategy," the firm said.
The firm recently added to its teams in New York and Orlando, Florida. In New York, the firm hired Corey Horowitz as a senior vice president to focus on office leasing and related advisory services for clients in the tri-state region that also includes portions of New Jersey and Connecticut. The firm also hired Rafael Mendez as a senior associate focused on providing industrial services in Central Florida.
In one of its biggest brokerage moves this year, the firm's Colliers South Carolina affiliate recruited a team of 50 commercial real estate professionals formerly with Lee & Associates Charleston to expand its operations in Charleston, South Carolina. The firm has also recently made key hires and appointments in Louisville, Kentucky, and Reno, Nevada.