Cushman & Wakefield announced a new leadership team and operational restructuring in the Americas — the global brokerage’s largest and most profitable region — to prepare for an expected industrywide rebound next year in real estate transaction activity.
Chicago-based Cushman, the world’s third-largest brokerage, said the moves are aimed at shifting back to growth mode after a yearlong strategic review of its global businesses, with the aim of focusing key leaders on the company’s two main client groups: those who buy and those who occupy buildings.
The company named two executives, Marla Maloney and Brad Kreiger, to be co-CEOs in the Americas, reporting to Andrew McDonald, Cushman’s global president and chief operating officer who is second in command to CEO Michelle MacKay. They will be charged with better meeting client needs across a spectrum of services ranging from leasing and investment sales to property and asset management.
The promotions stem from company efforts to streamline processes and improve relationships with clients, part of a sweeping initiative launched when MacKay took over the top executive slot from John Forrester in July 2023, becoming the first female CEO of a global commercial real estate brokerage.
MacKay announced a “deep dive and a heavy scrub” to cut millions in expenses, reduce debt and conduct a top-to-bottom review of the company's businesses amid industrywide declines in revenue and profits. Earlier this month, she announced higher revenue for the firm in the third quarter, driven by its largest leasing growth in more than two years.
Cushman has increased cash flow by $150 million over the past year, repaid $200 million in debt before it became due next year and refinanced another $3 billion in debt slated to come due in coming years. Now, the company is ramping up the hiring of professionals as brokerages compete to capitalize on an expected rebound in deal activity next year, McDonald said in an interview with CoStar News.
"We're now in growth mode, and that means having the right people in the right positions to make decisions," McDonald said. "We're really hyper-focused now on profitability and growth, and that's why we're shifting to a new organizational model. All services businesses need to make a regular audit of how they are aligning around their clients."
In addition to the new co-chief executive positions for Maloney and Kreiger that took effect Friday, Cushman promoted industry veteran Toby Dodd to the newly created position of chief revenue officer for the Americas.
In other moves:
- Cushman promoted Matt Chatham to president of occupier advisory services to coordinate the firm's services to key occupier and multimarket clients.
- Victoria Malkin was promoted to president of Americas Markets, with responsibility for the company's geographic markets.
- Morgan Trotter was promoted to Americas chief operating officer.
- Jeremy Hemann has been elevated to chief operating officer of investor services and will also oversee multifamily asset services.
- Bregan Herrold will continue as chief financial officer, Americas, and her role will expand to oversee global procurement for the company.
- Emily Kehinde received a promotion to chief marketing officer, taking on Kreiger's responsibilities to head the firm's global marketing, communications and research functions.