Mark G Anderson Consultants, a global project management firm based in Washington, D.C., has announced changes to its executive team as the firm continues to grow globally.

Founder Mark Anderson will now serve as the company's president and chief executive officer. Anderson's expanded role will see him strategically focus on the company's future growth. He has more than 38 years of experience in the construction industry.

MGAC provides project, program and development management services, project controls, cost management and monitoring, scheduling, technology and relocation services from 10 offices throughout North America and the United Kingdom. Founded in 1996, MGAC has seen a 50% expansion since March 2020.

Steve Hay has taken on the role of chief operating officer. In addition to his current role as managing director, for which Hay is responsible for oversight of several of MGAC's domestic offices and service lines, he will now also manage the firm's human resources, information technology and administration teams while overseeing the expansion of the company's offices and its client base around the globe.

Hay has more than 17 years of experience in construction management, project management and program management for new development projects and existing portfolios encompassing millions of square feet. He previously worked as a project manager at Peris Cos. and holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Pittsburgh, according to his LinkedIn profile.

Managing Director Sandra Grande, formerly a senior vice president with the firm, is moving into the role of chief marketing officer. In her new role, Grande will manage and expand the company's global market team across all its offices. MGAC reports that Grande played a critical role in the success of its acquisition of UK-based RLF, and will continue to lead the execution of internal and external marketing and communication efforts.

Currently based in the firm's Los Angeles office, Grande has spent the past 18 years working in marketing for the architecture, engineering and construction industries. Before joining MGAC, she worked as a principal and director of marketing for ZGF Architects. Grande holds a bachelors of business administration degree in marketing from Boston University.

Commercial real estate development and management company St. John Properties has hired DJ Andrew as the latest addition to is four-year, signature partner-in-training program.

The sequence prepares participants to open a new regional office in an area of the country that has been identified as a growth market. Graduates of the program learn six different commercial real estate disciplines, including development, construction, marketing, leasing, tenant improvements and property management.

Since its inception, eight professionals have completed the partner-in-training program, and another five are currently enrolled. Brooke Harlander, the most recent professional to complete the program, was promoted to regional partner and opened an office in Austin, Texas, earlier this spring. Brandon Jenkins finished the program in 2019 and was named regional partner of the company’s Colorado office, which has developed and manages approximately 1 million square feet of office and flex space in the market.

"Our partners in training represent the future growth of St. John Properties, and our long-term vision to expand into emerging markets across the country," said St. John Properties President and CEO Lawrence Maykrantz in a statement. "When identifying new talent for this program, we specifically target well-rounded individuals with strong leadership and communication skills. DJ’s experience in the financial and real estate industries provides him with a strong foundation and makes him perfectly suited for our partner-in-training program."

Andrew is a certified public accountant who spent the past three years with The Related Cos., a global real estate company based in New York City. He most recently served as director of financial planning and analysis for the firm, and before that held various roles at Ernst & Young.

Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer has promoted Barry L. Ward to managing broker and first vice president.

In his expanded role, Ward will focus on growing the firm's Roanoke and Lynchburg, Virginia, offices while leading current and future associates in the region.

Ward began his commercial real estate career more than 30 years ago in the Roanoke Valley. He is a third-generation real estate broker and a graduate of the University of Richmond.

"Barry is one of the mainstays in the Roanoke commercial real estate community. You can’t walk down the streets of downtown without him stopping to say hello to someone he knows," said Eric B. Robinson, executive vice president of Cushman & Wakefield | Thalhimer, in a corporate statement announcing the hire. "He has earned the opportunity to lead our talented team of brokerage professionals in Roanoke and we’re excited about what he has planned for the future there."

Ward succeeds William D. Poe, who served as managing broker of Thalhimer's southwestern Virginia operations for the past six years. Poe, a 42-year industry veteran, will continue to focus on sales and leasing brokerage transactions on behalf of clients throughout the region.

Seth Weinert has joined Toronto-based Avison Young in Chicago as a principal and director of strategy and risk management.

In his new role, Weinert will drive development of the firm's long- and mid-term strategies and oversee the identification and mitigation of potential gaps or threats to the firm and its offerings. Weinert will partner with Chief Strategy Officer Hiren Thakar and will also sit on the company's executive committee, reporting directly to Avison Young Chairman and CEO Mark E. Rose.

"Our clients and our industry face a more complicated and uncertain operating environment than ever before. As Avison Young works to deliver the real estate experience of the future, it is critical that we optimize our own portfolio of products, services and technologies to drive real value for our clients. Seth will enable that," Rose said in a statement.

Weinert brings more than 20 years of experience in client-facing, product, corporate development and strategic planning roles, most recently serving as head of strategic planning and growth for JLL's work dynamics group, where he delivered multi-year growth plans and led international transformation workstreams for the global brokerage.

National multifamily developer Cypress Equity Investments has opened two new offices in Florida, and tapped a pair of multifamily industry veterans to staff them. This marks the third regional expansion following the firm’s October 2021 joint-venture partnership with New York-based Winter Properties.

Errol Blumer was named senior vice president of acquisitions and Wesley Geys will serve as senior vice president of development. In their new roles, Blumer and Geys will seek out garden-style, mid-rise and high-rise multifamily opportunities across the sunshine state.

In Fort Lauderdale, Blumer brings more than a decade of experience and has been involved in the development of more than 12,000 apartment units and completed over $2 billion in multifamily, mixed-use and commercial transactions throughout the Southeast. Blumer joins CEI from Northmarq, where he led and managed the acquisition and disposition of multi-housing properties across Florida, and before that held investment and capital markets roles with Cushman & Wakefield, Avison Young and ARA Newmark.

In St. Petersburg, Geys has more than 20 years of real estate experience, having been involved in the development of 6,400 multifamily units valued in excess of $1.8 billion. Geys most recently served as a vice president with Jefferson Apartment Group, and before that held various development roles with Tavistock Development Co., Greystone and Landmark Cos.

Unico Properties, a subsidiary of Unico Investment Group founded in 1953, has named Billy Woodward as its new Colorado market leader.

In his new role, Woodward will oversee leasing efforts across the company's 3.1 million-square-foot portfolio in Colorado, where the firm has been acquiring, managing and developing commercial properties for more than 15 years. He will also assist in identifying additional investment opportunities in the market.

Woodward brings nearly a decade of commercial real estate experience in the Denver area, most recently serving as a vice president with Lincoln Property Co. Before that, he held brokerage roles at Transwestern and Newmark. Throughout his career, Woodward has closed more than 550 transactions totaling nearly 10 million square feet.

Carlos Valdivia has joined investment brokerage firm Cove Capital Investments in Los Angeles as a vice president.

In his new role, Valdivia will lead the group's multifamily acquisition efforts by pursuing value-add opportunities nationwide, including identifying properties, financial modeling, valuation analysis, due diligence, deal structuring and transaction execution through closing.

Valdivia brings more than two decades of experience in commercial real estate investing, asset management, redevelopment, leasing, finance and valuations, most recently as vice president for Tokyu Land U.S. Corp., a publicly traded, Japanese-held real estate investment firm where he was involved in the acquisition and management of a $1.2 billion portfolio of multifamily, office and student housing properties across the United States.

Larry Bustamante has joined multifamily brokerage firm Stepp Commercial in Los Angeles as a vice president.

In his new role, Bustamante will continue to focus on multifamily property transactions on behalf of new and existing clients. He is based in the firm's Santa Monica office.

Bustamante brings more than 35 years of commercial real estate industry experience, including property management, acquisitions, dispositions, tax-deferred exchanges, asset valuation and analysis for some of the largest multifamily owners, private investors and family offices in the Southern California region, most recently at Coldwell Banker Coastal Alliance.

Full-service commercial real estate firm NAI Earle Furman has promoted Robbie Smith to property management controller and Brett Simmons to accounting manager in Greenville, South Carolina.

In her expanded role, Smith will continue to manage the property management group's accounting, reporting and compliance activities. Smith joined NAI Earle Furman as accounting manager in 2015.

Simmons joined NAI Earle Furman in 2017 as a senior accountant, responsible for brokerage accounting. In her expanded role, Simmons will manage the firm's investment fund accounting and maintain financial systems and procedures for financial and tax reporting.

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