JLL hires California valuation director; Hiffman names top managers; Brennan promotes finance executive

Michael Wada joined JLL’s value and risk advisory practice as an executive director based in Irvine, California. The real estate services firm said Wada will lead multifamily housing-focused services in California and be a member of JLL's multi-housing valuation group led by Executive Managing Director Kai Pan.

Wada has “extensive valuation experience paired with a multi-housing acquisitions background,” as Chicago-based JLL looks to expand its value- and risk-advisory services in that category, Pan said in a statement. Most recently, Wada served as vice president of acquisitions at Davlyn Investments. He held earlier appraisal-focused roles at several other firms, including Apprise by Walker & Dunlop, Bowery Valuation, Stout, JPMorgan Chase and Crest Consulting. 

Real estate services provider NAI Hiffman and its property management division, Hiffman National, made several executive appointments. The firm named Carrie Szarzynski as executive managing director and Brian Edgerton as executive vice president. Szarzynski and Edgerton were also named shareholders in the Oakbrook Terrace, Illinois-based company. Szarzynski previously served as senior managing director at Hiffman and Edgerton served as senior vice president.

Edgerton, who has been with Hiffman since 2001, when the firm acquired Scribcor Real Estate Services, has completed more than 700 transactions involving over 3.5 million square feet of office space. Szarzynski joined the company in 2017 and helped expand Hiffman’s management services group. She previously worked at JLL, Equity Office Properties and GE Capital.

Hiffman also named Denes Juhasz research director. He returns to the firm after roles at CBRE and CoStar Group. The firm also named Joshua Reuter associate director of workplace solutions. Reuter held earlier roles at architecture and design firms, such as Shive-Hattery, Ware Malcomb and CannonDesign. 

Brennan Investment Group promoted CJ Stempeck to senior vice president of capital markets. The Chicago-based firm said Stempeck previously served as vice president, managing procurement of debt and equity financing for Brennan’s industrial real estate acquisitions and developments nationwide. He was previously with Quadrant Real Estate Advisors.

Brennan Investment operates 18 U.S. regional offices and is focused on acquiring, developing and operating industrial properties. Its current portfolio includes about 57 million square feet of properties in 29 states. 

Partner Valuation Advisors added Michael Robinson as a managing director to support the company’s operations in New York City and South Florida. The Chicago-based company said Robinson, a 35-year industry veteran, joined the firm as part of its ongoing East Coast expansion. He will be based in New York and also serve clients in the Miami region.

Robinson has completed valuation assignments for thousands of commercial properties nationwide, including several high-profile Manhattan buildings. He has worked with institutional investors and debt-capital clients involved in multiple commercial property categories. Robinson held earlier roles at Avison Young and KTR Real Estate Advisors. 

Affordable housing finance provider Century Housing Corp. named industry veteran William Wong as its chief financial officer. Over the course of an international career spanning nearly 40 years, Wong has raised nearly $1 billion in equity and debt capital, the Culver City, California-based firm said. He previously worked as group chief financial officer and operating partner at Taussig Capital Holdings.

Wong was also a founding member and manager of multiple investment entities, including a hedge fund backed by Protégé Partners. He held earlier leadership roles at financial service firms Oppenheimer, Salomon Smith Barney and Salomon Brothers. He was also a certified public accountant at Arthur Andersen & Co., serving clients including developers of multifamily housing that involved low-income housing tax credits.