JLL promoted Amanda Kross to oversee the expansion of the Americas region of its global consulting business. In her new role, Kross, part of JLL global consulting since 2017, is responsible for working across the Americas to increase JLL’s advisory services consulting work. For the past year, she served as head of people experience, a team she helped establish and expand, for JLL’s global consulting group. JLL seeks to expand the global consultant practice as occupiers grapple with how to best use their space to attract workers back to offices and figure out the mix of working from both the office and home. JLL’s work dynamics global consulting practice focuses on helping clients grow and manage the changing workplace and workforce and advises them on the built environment and employee experience. "My goal is to bring that transformational work to more clients — across industries and asset types — to continue to reimagine how we work, live and play in a post-pandemic world," Kross said in a statement.

CBRE has expanded into Louisiana with the addition of Bryce French, who joined the brokerage as a senior vice president based in New Orleans. French, who has eight years of commercial real estate experience, previously worked at Max J. Derbes Inc., a New Orleans-based brokerage. French has completed transactions in several property sectors and worked with industrial, office and investment clients and represented buyers, sellers, tenants and landlords. He's developed a specialization working with ports and terminals and servicing clients with a maritime component to their business. He will work with clients across the state of Louisiana, CBRE said. The addition of French "furthers our initiative to widen our reach and readily provide expert services throughout the region," Peter Mainguy, senior managing director at CBRE in Houston, said in a statement.

Transwestern Real Estate Services tapped Emily Nicoll to serve as city leader for the firm in Minneapolis. In her new role, Nicoll will oversee operations of the company's Minneapolis office and oversee the expansion and performance of the business and Transwestern brand. A 20-year industry veteran, Nicoll joined Transwestern from CBRE, where she served as a senior vice president in the brokerage's occupier services group and focused on providing strategic and transactional support for corporate tenants. Her job at CBRE included working with clients across their portfolios to identify and leverage market opportunities. During her career, she has represented high-profile clients including Cargill, Northwestern Mutual, WPP and the YMCA of the North. TRS President Greg Munson said in a statement that Nicoll's "deep understanding of the Minneapolis commercial real estate market and a proven ability to grow multi-market relationships" will benefit the firm as it works to expand in the region.

London-based brokerage Savills promoted Sarah Dreyer, its onetime head of Americas research who most recently served as executive vice president of information technology and digital strategy, to chief information officer for North America. Dreyer, who's based in Washington, D.C., will retain her executive vice president title as well. She is filling the position that opened when previous CIO Patrick McGrath was promoted to president of Savills' U.S. West Region in 2022. In her new position as CIO, Dreyer will continue to oversee the firm’s research, development and IT strategies across North America, Savills said. Dreyer and her team also will continue to lead projects including Savills' enterprise artificial intelligence initiatives.

Dreyer's "strategic insight, innovative approach to market data, and adeptness in managing complex projects were clear indicators of her potential for greater responsibilities,” David Lipson, CEO of Savills North America, said in a statement. Dreyer started at Savills in early 2017 as director of research for its Washington region. In June 2019, she moved up to head of Americas research, and in early 2022 was elevated to executive vice president of IT and digital strategy.

Capital placement and finance shop Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group promoted partner Laura Cloud to senior managing director and Lauren Hanley to managing director. The firm also named Hanley a partner. Cloud joined Patterson in 2019 to further the firm’s expansion in the Nashville, Tennessee, market. Before joining Patterson in 2019, Cloud, who has nearly 20 years of commercial real estate experience, served as director of development and special assets at Nicol Investment Co., where she led the strategy and execution of mixed-use developments, complex assets and new development opportunities. Before that, Cloud served as vice President of investments and development at Carter, where she oversaw more than 1.5 million square feet of development of multifamily, retail and office space from the start through the properties' eventual dispositions. Hanley, who joined Patterson in the fall of 2020 to lead the firm’s expansion into Tampa, Florida, has spent her commercial real estate career structuring capital for developers and investors. Prior to joining Patterson, she spent 14 years at NorthMarq, where she worked on facilitating more than $1 billion in financing for over 100 executed transactions. Lance Patterson founded Patterson Real Estate Advisory Group in Atlanta 15 years ago.

Berkadia hired Jared Kelso and Steve Michels, who previously served as co-heads of Cushman & Wakefield's national hospitality capital markets practice, as senior managing directors in its hotels and hospitality group. Based in New York City, Kelso and Michels will report to Andy Wimsatt, head of the group, the firm said. Kelso and Michels, who have a combined 38 years of experience in the hospitality industry, have led more than $30 billion in lodging investment sales and debt placement transactions, according to Berkadia. Wimsatt has aggressively grown his team since he started at Berkadia last summer. He also recruited the team of Christian Charre, Paul Weimer and Natalie Castillo to the brokerage's hotels and hospitality group in Miami.

At Berkadia, Kelso and Michels will help build a coordinated national approach to the hospitality advisory business across the firm's investment sales and mortgage banking businesses that include debt placement, note sales and recapitalizations. Kelso joined Berkadia after working nearly 18 years at Cushman & Wakefield. Michels was at Cushman & Wakefield for almost 13 years before moving last week to Berkadia.

Global Real Estate Advisors, or GREA, a national brokerage network, has expanded its multifamily investment sales presence in North Carolina with the addition of a Raleigh-based team led by industry veterans Steve Deaton, Michael Deaton and Thomas "T." Furlow of Deaton Investment Real Estate. Deaton said the alliance with GREA offers the firm he founded in 1981 additional support and resources and will generate new opportunities to help its clients. The partnership between GREA and Deaton Investment Real Estate expands GREA's footprint to 11 major metropolitan areas in less than two years after it launched. GREA, which now has a team of more than 70 investment sales advisers, had a collective sales volume from 2022-2023 exceeding $7 billion.