September – Briefs/People

Archstone Makes Two Top Appointments

Apartment investment and operations firm Archstone has promoted Charles Mueller to president & COO. Mueller had held leadership roles at Archstone since 1994, and has worked as the company’s COO since 2007 while retaining responsibilities as CFO, a position he took in 1998. Mueller received his bachelor’s degree in business administration in real estate and finance from the University of Texas at Austin and his Master of Business Administration from Southern Methodist University.

The company has also hired Webster Neighbor as its CFO. Neighbor comes to the firm from Lehman Brothers Holdings Inc., where he most recently worked as senior vice president. During his time with Lehman Brothers, Neighbor completed more than $30 billion worth of public and private real estate transactions. He was also responsible for managing Lehman’s investments in Archstone after the company’s privatization in 2007. Neighbor holds a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering from Oregon State University and a Master of Business Administration in Corporate Finance with an emphasis in Real Estate from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

CBRE Makes Four Big Moves

CBRE Group Inc. has announced that Calvin Frese will step into the position of CEO of the company’s Americas business, its largest operating unit. The group also announced that Mike Lafitte will serve as global president of CBRE Services. Chris Kirk, CBRE’s global director of human resources, has also moved up and is now the firm’s chief administrative officer. The firm has tapped Laura O’Brien to take on the post of global director of human resources and workplace strategy.

NGKF Bolsters Midwest, Las Vegas Offices

Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has promoted and added key personnel in its Pittsburgh, Cleveland, Detroit and Las Vegas offices. Four changes took place in the three Midwestern offices, with new executive managing directors including Robert Nosal in Cleveland, Frederick Liesveld in Detroit and Gerald McLaughlin and Louis Oliva in Pittsburgh. In Las Vegas, John Knott and Michael Parks joined the NGKF operation.

Morris Named Wells Chief Real Estate Officer

Wells Real Estate Funds has named Patricia Morris chief real estate officer. She will replace Don Henry, who is resigning after 10 years of service. Morris was previously the managing director of asset management at Wells. She has more than 25 years of experience in the sector and joined the firm in 2003 from Prudential Real Estate Investors, where she worked as director of asset management and as a portfolio manager.

Kevin Smith Joins CAPREIT as SVP

CAPREIT Inc. has hired Kevin Smith as a senior vice president. Smith, who has 18 years of real estate experience, comes to the firm from Centerline Capital Group, where he held the title of director of mortgage banking. Smith has also served as a managing director at Holliday Fenoglio Fowler L.P. and as president of ARK Realty Capital. In his new role, Smith will work to manage the existing debt/equity relationships and source large individual or portfolio acquisitions.

Berkeley Point Capital Hires McDevitt as President

Commercial real estate finance veteran Jim McDevitt has been named president of Berkeley Point Capital. McDevitt, most recently an executive vice president & head of correspondent development for Wells Fargo Multifamily Capital, will be responsible for day-to-day operations, including the firm’s production, underwriting and closing activities. Other executives also recently joining the firm are Bill Mott and Stephan Gianoplus, managing directors; Ira Strassberg, CFO; Anurag Saksena, chief risk officer; and Joseph Turitz, general counsel & corporate secretary.

Colliers Names McKenna EVP

Colliers International has named Kevin McKenna executive vice president in the industrial specialty, based in the firm’s Ontario, Calif., office. McKenna has completed more than $3 billion worth of real estate transactions in his 25-year career. He joins Colliers from CBRE Group Inc., where he served as executive vice president. McKenna holds a bachelor’s degree in business administration with an emphasis in accounting from the University of Southern California. He serves on the boards of SIOR and NAIOP.

Voit Adds Las Vegas Office Team

The Cayton Office Team, which is led by Jayne Cayton and recognized as a top-producing brokerage team in the Las Vegas market, has joined Voit Real Estate Services’ Las Vegas office. The addition falls in line with the firm’s ongoing strategy to have top teams for each product type in the Las Vegas market. The team includes Jayne Cayton and Paula Lea. Cayton, who joins the firm as vice president, has more than 12 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry. Prior to joining Voit, she served as vice president at CBRE Group Inc. Lea, who joins Voit as an associate, was also with CBRE. The two have partnered since 2010.