Global commercial real estate and investment management services firm JLL has hired a veteran broker to head its agency leasing team in southeast Texas.

Tyler Garrett joined the firm's Houston office as executive vice president and managing director of agency leasing.

In his new role, Garrett will lead the region's landlord representation team and will focus on driving key initiatives to continue expanding JLL's presence in the market.

Houston's office leasing market shows signs of ongoing challenges this year, according to CoStar market analytics. There is currently a record high of 80.1 million square feet available for lease, representing 22.6% of the market's total inventory. But Garrett appears ready to take it on.

"Houston continues to shine brightly, demonstrating resilience and growth in the face of challenges," Garrett told CoStar. "Our return-to-office rate outpaces that of other major metropolitan areas, demonstrating that Houston is truly operating against the trend. I'm confident that the future holds even more opportunities for both businesses and individuals to flourish."

Garrett brings nearly two decades of real estate experience, most recently as a senior vice president with Transwestern.

In 2022, Garrett represented landlord Cousins Properties in leasing 328,000 square feet to Apache for its new headquarters at Briarlake Plaza in Harris County, and last year he was named 2021 Broker of the Year by the Houston Office Leasing Brokers Association.

Before that, Garrett held leasing and analyst positions at Skanska, Hines and Newmark Knight Frank, according to his LinkedIn profile. He has been involved in leasing more than 4 million square feet of commercial space throughout his career, with a total transaction value exceeding $1 billion.

Real estate investment and operating firm Unico Properties, a subsidiary of Unico Investment Group, has promoted Robert Penney to chief investment officer.

In his new role, Penney will lead Unico’s investment team, develop strategies and source new investment opportunities while playing a central role in capital formation initiatives, according to the firm.

Penney most recently served as senior vice president of acquisitions at Unico, where he oversaw investment, joint-venture and development opportunities and was a member of its executive leadership committee. He joined Unico in 2010 as a financial analyst, and since then has been involved in more than $3 billion in acquisition, financing and recapitalization transactions.

Penney succeeds Ned Carner, who will leave at the end of March after 15 years with the firm but is expected to remain involved in key Unico projects throughout the Puget Sound region.

Matt Gregory has been promoted to managing director of NAI Ohio Equities' brokerage division in Columbus.

In his new role, Gregory will focus on the recruitment, development and retention of sales associates while continuing with his book of business handling sales and lease transactions with the company's office brokerage group.

Gregory began his career with NAI Ohio Equities 20 years ago as a marketing intern before joining the firm as director of information technology. In 2006 he became a licensed agent and was continually recognized as a top producer with the firm, and in 2012 he was promoted to senior vice president of office brokerage. Gregory earned both his SIOR and CCIM designations, and he previously served as the president of Columbus Commercial Industrial Investment Realtors and chaired the Commercial Advisory Board at Columbus Realtors.

Gregory succeeds Mike Simpson, who stepped into the role of president of the firm back in 2014 after the retirement of its founder, George "Sandy" Simpson, and had held both positions since then.

David Baker has joined Newmark as an executive managing director in Houston.

In his new role, Baker will continue to focus on office landlord representation, expanding Newmark's agency leasing presence in the region.

Baker brings more than three decades of industry experience and has been recognized as a top producer both locally and nationally throughout his career. He has represented more than 50 million square feet of leasing in over 200 buildings across Houston and has been involved in recruiting and training several top office leasing professionals. Baker most recently served as an executive vice president with Transwestern.

Todd Husak has joined JLL's Northern California agency leasing team as a senior managing director in its Silicon Valley office.

In his new role, Husak will continue to focus on agency leasing and tenant representation throughout Northern California and the Bay Area. He joins the team of Mark Bodie and Toss Vallentine.

Husak brings a diverse range of corporate real estate knowledge, including 16 years with CBRE, where he oversaw planning, development and transaction services in the greater Palo Alto and San Francisco peninsula areas. After graduating from Stanford University, he was drafted by the former Washington Redskins in the sixth round of the 2000 NFL draft and played professional football for five years.

Global commercial real estate developer Trammell Crow Co. and its residential subsidiary High Street Residential have hired Michael Adamo as a senior vice president.

In his new role, Adamo will be responsible for expanding the firm's residential development business in the Northeast metropolitan markets of New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.

Adamo previously served as managing director of acquisitions for Rose Associates, where he led sourcing, due diligence, underwriting, negotiation and capital-raising efforts for development and redevelopment opportunities. Before that, he held development positions with Avalon Bay Communities and the Briarwood Organization.

Cullinan Properties has hired Ken Hinkle as vice president of leasing in Atlanta.

In his new role, Hinkle will continue to focus on leasing, property management and retail management, in addition to collaborating with the development team.

Hinkle brings more than 30 years of industry experience, having held senior management positions at Kite Realty, Retail Properties of America, Simon Property Group and Federated Department Stores. In his most recent role, he was responsible for developing and executing leasing strategies for roughly 4.8 million square feet of commercial space.