Cresa employees around the globe are honoring the legacy of company founder Bill Goade, 70, who died this month in Florida.
A Boston native who attended Tufts University and then left the area for The Wharton School before returning. Goade in 1985 founded Avalon Partners, the brokerage that later became Cresa Partners and now Cresa. With the help of partners he brought to the company, he expanded Cresa, now based in Chicago, to more than 50 global offices.
“Although he officially retired a few years ago, he continued to be a guiding figure for so many of us, including myself," Cresa Chairman Gary Gregg said in a memorial posted on the company's blog. "Personally, I wouldn’t be where I am today without Bill’s mentorship, influence, advice, and friendship.”
Cresa managing partner Jack Burns said Goade succeeded in "bringing together a like-minded group of people who enjoyed working together" to serve clients globally. "He succeeded on many fronts in growing and uniting our global Cresa community," Burns said in the blog post. "Bill was my friend, partner, mentor, and a wonderful leader, and this is a great loss to us all.”
Goade, pictured, died Nov. 1 in "his favorite place on earth — his beachfront house in Florida," according to his obituary in the Naples Daily News.