Cushman & Wakefield office broker Andy Ghertner, who in 1999 quipped that real estate is a young man's business before working about a quarter century more, retired last week. That was after a 55-year career highlighted by his 46 years at Cushman. During Ghertner's tenure as Cushman & Wakefield, he played a role in several landmark office transactions in the Atlanta area, including GE Power System's 260,000-square-foot lease when the company relocated its headquarters from Schenectady, New York to suburban Atlanta. He also helped engineer the 440,000-square-foot lease in midtown Atlanta with King & Spalding in 2006 that ended the law firm's 120-year presence in the downtown of the Georgia capital. “My career has been a great ride, especially the last 46 years with Cushman & Wakefield," Ghertner said in a statement. "I have been a participant in almost more corporate leasing transactions than I can remember with Cushman & Wakefield colleagues across the country and internationally."

Tyler Courtney, managing principal of Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlanta operation. called Ghertner "the godfather of office tenant representation in Atlanta." Ghertner's daughter Katie Ghertner said she is proud of her father's commercial real estate career. "I hope his career inspires others and leaves them with good memories of my Dad," she emailed.

Savills recruited the team of Shane Poppen, Craig Knox and Zach Millrood to bolster the brokerage's presence in San Diego and its North American life sciences practice. Poppen, Knox, and Millrood will join Savills from Hughes Marino. At Savills, each will be a vice chairman, typically the highest-possible level a producer can attain at a brokerage. Poppen also will serve as Savills' San Diego market leaders and as West region co-leader of the firm’s life Sciences practice alongside Knox. Poppen, Knox, and Millrood will work closely with North America life sciences practice lead Austin Barrett and the broader North American life sciences team on global initiatives. "While they will continue to represent a wide-range of occupiers, their experience in the biotech space creates a unique opportunity to fully integrate our life sciences practice within one of North America’s critical hubs,” Savills West Region President Patrick McGrath said in a statement.

Since 2006, the Poppen-Knox-Millrood team has completed thousands of transactions together totaling more than 50 million square feet. Poppen specializes in providing real estate strategy and complex transaction advice for biotech, medical device and healthcare companies. Knox, a San Diego native with experience in the local market, has represented hundreds of companies on real estate transactions and needs. Millrood, who has completed engagements in major markets and cities across the country, has experience in helping Southern California occupiers manage their multimarket portfolios.

Colliers has hired industry veteran Lee Asher, who previously served as head of healthcare and life sciences capital markets at CBRE, as a vice chair and group leader of its healthcare capital markets practice. Jordan Selbiger joined Asher in the move to Colliers. Selbiger will serve as a vice president on the firm's capital markets team. Colliers said it recruited Asher and Selbiger as part of its ongoing nationwide capital markets group expansion. A 20-year industry veteran, Asher co-founded the healthcare and life sciences capital markets business at CBRE. During his career he has played a key role in the sale or recapitalization of more than 72 million square feet of commercial properties valued at more than $24 billion.

Selbiger, a nine-year industry veteran who previously served as a first vice president at CBRE, has worked on several sizable transactions including more than 20 portfolio recapitalizations and dispositions with an average value topping $225 million. At CBRE, he oversaw more than 90 healthcare real estate transactions involving a total of more than 16 million square feet of space and having an aggregate value of over $6.5 billion.

MBK Real Estate has appointed Kenji Iwai as the company’s next chairman and president. On Oct. 31, Iwai succeeded Katsuo “Katsu” Yamanaka, who had led MRE’s growth since 2017 and oversaw its entry into the logistics market. Iwai joined MRE’s parent company, Mitsui & Co., in 1997. In his new roles as chairman and president, he will be responsible for the overall management of MRE and oversee the development and execution of the company’s strategic plan that includes a focus on expanding Irvine, California-based MBK's network of capital partners. Iwai most recently served as deputy general manager of Mitsui & Co.'s human resources and general affairs and corporate planning division. He also served as general manager of the company's U.S. real estate business, strategic planning and investment management department. Iwai joined Mitsui in 1997 in the company’s residential business division in Tokyo and has worked in various capacities in Asia, Europe in addition to the U.S.

National development and construction firm Ryan Cos. has promoted Scott Stenman to the new position of chief construction officer. In his role, he will oversee preconstruction and construction operations across the company’s 17 offices. Stenman will provide leadership and oversight to ensure the company’s integrated project delivery system is successfully executed. Stenman joined Ryan in 2020 as vice president of construction in the company’s Southeast region. Prior to joining Minneapolis-based Ryan, he served as the CEO of construction at multifamily developer Doran Cos. Located in Ryan’s office in Tampa, Florida, Stenman is now a member of the company’s executive leadership team. He has more than 30 years of experience in construction and development.

Western Retail Advisors, or WRA, has expanded its Phoenix brokerage team with the addition of industry veteran Darrell Deshaw as a vice president and Rachel Bliss as a senior associate. Deshaw, who has 18 years of commercial real estate experience, has been involved in more than $400 million in investment sales and acquisitions for developers, investors and national franchise tenants. Deshaw, who joined WRA from Kidder Mathews, where he worked for nearly five years and served as a vice president, also has worked on site selection and land and lease transactions, including the representing of national quick serve restaurant operators seeking locations in emerging markets in the Phoenix area. Bliss joined WRA from Equity Retail Brokers, a Philadelphia-based brokerage firm where she covered retail markets in Delaware, New Jersey and Pennsylvania. In her new role, Bliss will focus on site selection, expansion planning, relocation strategies and lease negotiations for regional and national tenants and landlords. Her current client roster includes 7Brew, Fleet Feet, The Ballpark, Tillys and Zoom Room.

National retail and mixed-use owner and developer Edens has hired multifamily veteran Kelly Nagel as head of residential. Before joining Edens, Nagel founded and served as the managing partner of Residy, a multifamily investment management platform. At Residy she was responsible for acquisitions and asset management of the venture's investment portfolio. In her new role at Edens, Nagel will direct strategy centered on incorporating residential components into the company's mixed-use developments. She will report to Bill Caldwell, chief development officer of Edens. Jodie McLean, CEO of Edens, said Nagel's background in multifamily operations, development and investment will benefit the company as it adds more apartments to its mixed-use projects. Before she founded Residy, Nagel served as a regional vice president at Aimco Apartment Homes, where she was responsible for the company's East Coast investments including acquisitions, developments and construction. She started her commercial real estate career at Regency Centers, where she oversaw financial underwriting of retail acquisitions and developments for multiple markets.