CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate brokerage by revenue, is launching a global service line advising clients on how to establish their electric vehicle charging infrastructure, which is expected to be a much bigger part of properties in the future.
Dallas-based CBRE has also named its leadership team to oversee the firm's new consulting arm that can identify charging sites, plan and install infrastructure and provide ongoing maintenance.
The White House outlined details last month on plans to build a national network of 500,000 electric vehicle chargers along the nation's highways and in cities to help serve a growing number of electric vehicles, which are expected to make up at least 50% of all new car sales by 2030. CBRE isn't the only real estate services firm looking to help clients during the expected transition from gasoline-powered automobiles to electric ones. Last year, the state of Georgia hired JLL and other consultants to help them apply for federal funds to enhance the state's electric vehicle infrastructure.
"The ongoing transition of the auto industry to electric vehicles represents one of the most significant evolutions of transportation in many decades," said Don Leeke, CBRE's global president of global workplace solutions' sales and solutions line, in a statement. "With this new service line, we have assembled the right leaders to harness CBRE's deep and expanding expertise in electric vehicles to advise innovative clients on their rollouts."
To lead the new service line, CBRE promoted Scott Howard to executive managing director to work with electric vehicle network operators, governments and vendors, firm officials said. Most recently, Howard, who has been at CBRE for 16 years, served as a global alliance director for technology clients in the firm's global workplace solutions division. In previous roles, he led global expansion programs consisting of multiple service lines to help clients optimize and manage their real estate portfolios.
Before he joined CBRE, Howard held leadership roles at Deloitte and Equis.
CBRE also named other executives to key leadership roles for the new service line. The brokerage hired Mark Kerstens as product lead for electric vehicle charging to ensure the availability of globally consistent product offerings spanning the entire electric vehicle life cycle for clients. He has 15 years of experience in renewable energy and electric mobility, including the last five years focused on electric vehicle charging at ChargePoint, Rivian and other companies, according to the statement.
CBRE promoted Jim Hurless to real estate electric vehicle leader in CBRE's advisory and transaction services business. Hurless, who is based in Dallas, will lead the firm's work in helping companies analyze, find and acquire electric vehicle charging sites. He has two decades of experience in commercial real estate, facilities and large infrastructure rollouts.