AtkinsRéalis, a global engineering, construction services and project management company, has tapped Yoonie Kim, who helped the state of Georgia land billions in investments from Asian companies, to help the company attract similar commitments from clients in Korea, Japan and China. Kim joined Montreal-based AtkinsRéalis as director of business development over foreign-direct investment in the United States and Mexico. From her base in Atlanta, Kim will expand the company's presence in the industrial sector with a focus on attracting foreign investments from clients in East Asia, AtkinsRéalis said. More than $200 billion has been invested in the United States from the Asia-Pacific region in the past three years, "leading to incredible growth and demand for our industrial services,” said Steve Morriss, the firm's president of the United States, Latin America and minerals and metals, in a statement.

Kim spent the previous 18 years working for the Georgia Department of Economic Development, where she earned a reputation for landing deals that led to development of manufacturing plants and offices across the state. Specifically, Georgia credits Kim, who grew up in South Korea before moving to the States, with landing 130 foreign direct investment projects that have created 22,600 jobs and $11.7 billion in capital investment in the state. Kim said her career highlight came in 2022 when she led the effort that resulted in Hyundai selecting Bryan County, Georgia, near Savannah, for its new $5.5 billion Metaplant America that is underway. "I absolutely didn’t have any idea when I was growing up in Korea that I would help bring Hyundai to Georgia," Kim told CoStar News last year. AtkinsRéalis said it has worked for years with Korean investors in industries such as electric vehicle batteries, solar panels, microprocessors and semiconductors and appliances.

CBRE has added the Southern California investment sales team led by Rachel Parsons and Derrek Ostrzyzek, who have completed nearly $7 billion in multifamily since 2018. In their new roles at CBRE, Parsons and Ostrzyzek will serve as vice presidents and focus on the sale of institutional apartment complexes and multifamily development and equity raises throughout the region, the brokerage said. For Parsons, who has more than 20 years of industry experience, the move marks her return to CBRE. She previously worked at CBRE from 2001-2018. Parsons spent the past several years at Moran & Co. and Berkadia. During her career, she has worked on more than $12 billion of multifamily transactions involving more than 40,000 units. Ostrzyzek, who also previously worked at Berkadia and Moran, has more than 18 years of experience in the industry. Based in Newport Beach, California, he also has been involved in sales of over $12 billion of multifamily properties. “Multifamily investments continue to be a favored product for both U.S. and international commercial real estate investors," Ostrzyzek said in a statement. Parsons and Ostrzyzek will play a significant role in the firm's "future growth in this $10 billion market," said Kelli Carhart, leader of CBRE's multifamily capital markets, in a statement.

Savills has appointed Donna Abood, who previously served as co-managing director of Avison Young in Miami, as vice chairman and co-head of Savills' Florida operation. Abood will work closely with Mike Griffin, who has been promoted to serve as the fellow co-head of Florida. Together, Abood and Griffin will lead Savills' growth strategy in the state, focusing on recruiting and retaining employees, growing revenue production and increasing the brand’s visibility, the brokerage said. Abood will oversee the firm's operations from South Florida to the Tampa Bay region, and Griffin will be responsible for overseeing Tampa Bay and regions north of Tampa, plus the Naples and Fort Myers, Florida, markets, Savills said. Tom Capocefalo will continue as market leader for Savills' Miami office. Capocefalo will work closely with Abood to expand the firm’s South Florida operations, Savills said. Abood co-led Avison Young in Miami from 2014, when the Toronto-based brokerage acquired her firm, Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group, until May. During her career, she has leased over 80 million square feet of office space on behalf of local and institutional ownership groups and completed hundreds of transactions in which she represented tenants. “In hiring Donna and elevating Mike, we are signaling to the market — and our competitors — that Savills is firmly planting its flag in the Sunshine State, Savills North America President Janet Woods said in a statement.

Colliers has hired veteran broker Brad Geiger, who spent the previous decade at Cushman & Wakefield and DTZ, as an executive vice president of debt and equity in the Washington, D.C., area. In his new role at Colliers, Geiger will work closely with Colliers’ brokers and business lines to provide services including financing, funding and sourcing capital for each commercial property type, the firm said. Geiger has experience working with office, industrial, multifamily, retail and hotel properties. His hiring is part of Colliers' effort to expand its presence in the Washington market and beyond, according to the firm. Geiger began his career as a national developer at Gilbane Properties before transitioning to the brokerage side, where he eventually became a senior vice president at Cushman and Wakefield. Prior to joining Colliers, Geiger closed on financing for deals involving two large industrial portfolios containing 13 properties and 2.1 million square feet of space.

Occupier-only commercial real estate firm Cresa has appointed Andrew Brod as a principal in its Houston office. The move that expands Cresa's Houston team to 24 brokers and professionals, comes after the firm acquired Fritsche Anderson Realty Partners. It also marks the first appointment by new managing principals and co-market leaders Anthony Fritsche and David Anderson, Cresa said.

Prior to joining Cresa, Brod, a 20-year industry veteran, served as a managing director and Houston market leader at Whitebox Real Estate. He has completed transactions totaling more than 2 million square feet on behalf of corporate and financial clients in the office, life science and industrial sectors. The expansion of its Houston office is part of Cresa's aggressive growth plan. It has acquired five companies in the past 18 months.

Northmarq has added Brett Curtis as a vice president and Chris Norton as an associate vice president to its multifamily investment sales group in its Boston office. Curtis and Norton will focus on the disposition and acquisition of multifamily properties in the greater Boston area for institutions, private clients and developers, Northmarq said. Both joined Northmarq from Northeast Private Client Group, a mid-market investment sales firm, where Curtis focused on expanding the company’s multifamily business in Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Maine. Norton has experience in data analytics and selling triple-net-lease industrial and retail properties. The addition of the pair will help Northmarq expand in Boston and across the Northeast, said Chris Doerr, regional managing director of multifamily investment sales.