Partners hires 15 in Atlanta; CBRE names new Cincinnati leader; Cushman promotes broker to vice chair

Partners Real Estate, the Houston firm that launched last year in Atlanta and hired longtime Cushman & Wakefield executive John O'Neill as its Southeast president, has made another major move with the addition of 15 commercial property professionals from Seven Oaks. As part of its merger into Partners, Seven Oaks principals Bob Voyles, Randy Holmes and Andrew Pearson joined Partners as equity partners and Schroder Voyles joins as a senior vice president. Moreover, the Seven Oaks management team led by Chris Breeden also joined Partners. The rest of the team is Mendy Halford, Liz Graft, Manual Veliz, Tujuana Smith, Gabriel Mandefro, Chris Knight, Ezekiel Canty, Niki Kenon-Florence, Kunle Oriyomi and Nichole Laverde.

Bob Voyles founded Seven Oaks in 2004 after playing a major role in Hines' growth in Atlanta. Before he left Hines, Voyles struck a deal with law firm King & Spalding to leave downtown Atlanta for 1180 Peachtree, a move that helped transform Midtown into the go-to neighborhood for professional and tech firms. In subsequent years, Voyles grew Seven Oaks into a high-profile boutique firm. “Their proven track record of success in property and asset management across office and industrial projects enables us to elevate our Investor Services platform and significantly broaden our asset management and development business across the Southeast," O'Neill said in a statement.

CBRE appointed Heather Nevin as senior managing director and market leader for Cincinnati, Dayton, Ohio, and Kentucky, effective Dec. 15. She will replace Kevin Schutte, who previously served as market leader for Cincinnati and Dayton and recently transitioned to a producer role, CBRE said. In her new role, Nevin will oversee day-to-day operations for all Cincinnati, Dayton and Kentucky advisory service lines of business including leasing, sales, valuations, debt and structured finance and property management.

Cushman & Wakefield said it promoted Jonathan Metzl to vice chair, meaning the firm's Office Tenant Representation Group leader, who's negotiated more than 8 million square feet of office, lab and industrial leases for clients, has attained the highest level possible for a producer.

JP Roach joined occupier-focused services firm Cresa, a former Savills tenant representative and one-time litigator and native Southern Californian, as executive managing principal and market leader for Orange County, California. He will also cover San Diego as Cresa works to grow its presence in both markets.

Chris Brown, the longtime Duke Realty executive in Atlanta who spent the past couple of years at Constellation Real Estate Partners, joined Dermody as a senior vice president to support the industrial development firm in sourcing, executing and operating new investments across its Southeast with Wes Hardy, Southeast region partner.

Trammell Crow Co., a subsidiary of CBRE, hired former Cypress Roots Development and Blackburn Communities Executive Jake Muse as a senior vice president in Nashville, Tennessee, to source and execute multifamily development opportunities for Trammell Crow's High Street Residential subsidiary.

Colliers said it hired former CBRE Hotels Vice President Andrew Healy as a senior vice president in Atlanta, where he will join the hospitality practice led by Vice Chair Mark Owens to help Colliers grow its presence in that sector and focus on investment sales and structured transaction.

Cody Johnson, who most recently worked for Entrada Partners, joined investor ML Realty Partners as a vice president in Dallas, where, the firm said, he will focus on the acquisition of industrial properties and development and redevelopment opportunities across the Dallas-Fort Worth region.

Woodfield Development, one of the largest Class A apartment developers in the country, said it appointed former Greystar director of development Neil Hanlon as vice president of development in Phoenix. He is tasked with leading the company's expansion into Arizona and Nevada by sourcing new opportunities and overseeing its developments in two of the fastest-growing markets in the West.

Law firm Polsinelli said Philip Piecuch joined its Chicago office as a shareholder in its national real estate practice. He will focus on real estate joint ventures and strategic alliances, while also working with developers, lenders and joint venture partners as Polsinelli grows across the country.