July – Briefs/People

NGKF Expands South American Presence

Barry Gosin, CEO, NGKF.

Change is afoot in the real estate sector across much of South America, and Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is ramping up in an effort to accommodate its clients. The commercial real estate services firm has just created a sizeable footprint in the region with the addition of 50 senior-level advisors in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. The new NGKF executives bring to the table a wealth of experience in the South American market, having provided services for any number of big-name international clients: the likes of Hines and Brookfield on the landlord side, and such leading companies as ExxonMobil, IBM, Johnson & Johnson, Morgan Stanley, Sony and Unilever on the user end.

MG Properties Hires Singh as Chief Investment Officer

San Diego real estate investor and operator MG Properties Group has hired Rob Singh to serve as managing director & chief investment officer. Singh brings 20 years of experience to the firm, most recently serving as senior vice president of ConAm. He spent 18 years at the company, during which he oversaw the acquisition of more than 16,000 multi-family units throughout the U.S. Prior to ConAm, Singh was with Citicorp and the Boston Co., pursuing both joint ventures and direct real estate investments for institutional capital. MG Properties Group plans on closing $250 million in acquisitions within the next 12 months.

Calkain Expands with New Atlanta Office

Calkain, a metropolitan Washington, D.C.-based net lease brokerage firm, has kicked off its national expansion program. First on the list of markets targeted for entry: Atlanta, where the company just opened a new office. Calkain has tapped Stephen Counts and Hunter Roquemore to lead the Atlanta office and steer the firm’s endeavors in the city. Counts steps in from Calkain’s Tampa office, where he has honed an enviable knowledge of southeastern real estate markets. Roquemore, a native of Atlanta, comes aboard with a diverse background in real estate services, much of it cultivated in his role as a vice president with restaurant chain company Raving Brands.

Jones Promoted to Director at Situs

Global commercial real estate advisory firm Situs has appointed Heather Jones as director of operations for Europe. Though Situs’ headquarters are in Houston, Jones will work out of the London office. The firm’s European operations have grown significantly in recent years due to demand for loan servicing and real estate debt advisory services. Jones joins the firm from Auction.com, where she served as co-head of business development. Prior to that, she held the position of vice president of commercial real estate origination at Credit Suisse.

RCS Capital to Acquire Strategic Capital Cos.

Nearly one year after entering the independent broker-dealer financial services arena, RCS Capital Corp. continues its shopping spree by adding an $80 million acquisition to accelerate its distribution platform growth and offer more alternative investment products. The firm has entered into a purchase agreement with Validus Strategic Capital Partners, which owns SC Distributors L.L.C., a wholesale broker-dealer of alternative investments, and Strategic Capital Advisory Services. The deal is expected to close in the third quarter. SCD and SCAS, which provide advisory and operational services to non-exchange traded alternative investment vehicles, will operate as a standalone business alongside RCS Capital’s existing wholesale distribution brokerage and other financial services companies. They will continue to be operated by the existing management under the Strategic Capital brand, including Patrick Miller, president & co-founder of SCD, and Kenneth Jaffe, president & co-founder of SCAS.

Robinson Takes Reins as President of Colliers’ U.S. Business

Real estate veteran Craig Robinson will assume the newly created position of president of Colliers’ U.S. business. He is tasked with managing all aspects of day-to-day U.S. operations for the services firm, including operations, strategic initiatives and business development. Prior to joining Colliers, Robinson was president of corporate services at Cassidy Turley. Robinson’s real estate career also includes structuring more than $350 million in equity real estate investments for AIG Global Real Estate, as well as a leadership position in strategic services at Trammell Crow Co.

CBRE Names Barkham Global Chief Economist

CBRE Group Inc. has appointed Richard Barkham as global chief economist. He will be based in the firm’s London office and will report to Nick Axford, CBRE’s global head of research. Barkham comes to the firm from Grosvenor, where he held the post of group research director since 2006. He has also served as non-executive director of Grosvenor Fund Management since 2011, and is a visiting professor of real estate economics at University College London.

Kennedy Wilson Adds 7 to San Antonio Office

Global real estate investment and services firm Kennedy Wilson has added a new seven-member team to its San Antonio office. Ernest Brown, a 30-year real estate veteran, will serve as co-managing director alongside Charles West, who has served as managing director of brokerage and leasing in Austin for the firm since 2012. Brown and his team come to the firm from Newmark Grubb Knight Frank. Other members of the team include Rick Stagers, George Harcourt, Barbara Crane, Cynthia Ellison, Clint Hennessey and Jorge Rodriguez. The new additions join Kennedy Wilson’s existing 75-person Texas team.