Finance thought leaders, together with CFO, will execute on capital deployment,
help implement investment strategy and manage finance
and accounting operations as company expands its global footprint
TORONTO, Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today the strategic appointment of five highly regarded finance and strategy professionals to enhance the company’s global expansion program.
The appointments include the promotions of two Avison Young finance leaders and the hiring of three leading professionals to newly created positions.
“We’re thrilled to expand our finance leadership team during our global expansion program,” comments Rose. “These strategic promotions and hires will bolster the team as we continue to deploy a tremendous amount of capital and expand our global footprint through more recruitment, mergers, acquisitions and new-office openings.”
Rose continues: “The finance team comprises thought leaders who have proven track records and understand the financial intricacies of the commercial real estate business and other industries. They have confidently – and competently – navigated companies through exponential growth while minimizing disruption and enhancing shareholder value. Working closely with our Chief Financial Officer Christine Battist, they will lead Avison Young’s global finance operations, oversee the aforementioned capital deployment, help implement our investment strategy and manage day-to-day accounting operations as we expand further.”
The following appointments are effective immediately.
The four finance leaders will report to Battist and Sawhney will report to Avison Young’s Chief Strategy Officer Hiren Thakar. Morande, Jenkins, Dunlop and Sawhney will be based in Avison Young’s Chicago office and Cresswell will be based in London, U.K.
“Our rapid global expansion and growth require finance leaders who can help transform Avison Young,” says Battist. “I’m proud to have promoted and sourced such a high calibre of talent. Tom, Rick, Rob, Ashwini and Steve embody our values, embrace leading change and are motivated to execute our strategic plan. Our team’s diversity and collective experience will help propel our business by providing critical financial and operational analysis that can be used to make informed strategic investment and operational decisions.”
Today’s appointments are part of Avison Young’s aggressive global expansion program, which commenced with a partnership and funding from Caisse de dépôt et placement du Québec (CDPQ) in 2018 and was heightened by the completion of the acquisition of U.K-based GVA on February 1, 2019.
“We’re looking forward to designing and implementing strategic financial systems and tools that ensure long-term business growth for our clients and company,” says Morande. “It is an exciting time to be at Avison Young and we are so pleased to be adding experienced and skilled resources to the finance team to exceed clients’ objectives.”
In the past two and a half months alone, the GVA acquisition has sparked hires and promotions involving more than 60 global and senior professionals, brokers and subject-matter experts – as well as acquisitions of brokerage operations in Germany and Canada.
The firm’s recent announcements since June 2019 have included the promotions of: Clint Miller to Global Director of Affinity Groups; Mark Fieder to President, Canada; and Martin Dockrill to Chief Operating Officer, Global Operations; as well as the appointments of: Charlie Morris as leader of the company’s U.S. Flexible Office Solutions practice; Melissa Dinslage as Global Director of Internal Communications; John Sikaitis as a Principal of Avison Young and Chief Innovation Officer; Nick Guglietta as Global Practice Lead, Product Development; Carl Caputo as Global Practice Lead, Data Science; and Nick Axford as a Principal of Avison Young and Global Director of Research. New employees also joined the company through the acquisitions of Hamburg, Germany-based Völckers King & Co. GmbH and the Avison Young affiliate in Southwestern Ontario.
Concludes Rose: “These promotions and hires reflect the increasing momentum of our expansion program. They also demonstrate top professionals’ desire to experience our collaborative culture and client-centric business model. We look forward to announcing further exciting hires, promotions and acquisitions in the near future.”
Avison Young is the world’s fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its Principals. Founded in 1978, with legacies dating back more than 200 years, the company comprises approximately 5,000 real estate professionals in 120 offices in 20 countries. The firm’s experts provide value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management and financing services to clients across the office, retail, industrial, multi-family and hospitality sectors.