Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) Retail announced the addition of Jennifer Watson as senior managing director.
Watson joins NGKF’s Chicago office and will work with the national retail group to continue serving such dominant franchise clients such as Dunkin’ and Burger King, among others.
She brings extensive experience in spearheading the strategic rollout and expansion of company-owned and franchise retail outlets in hundreds of U.S. markets.
Most recently, Watson served as vice president of National Real Estate Solutions at Baum Realty Group, where she developed and implemented site selection and advisory services for a number of clients across a wide range of industries seeking to increase their national footprint.
Earlier in her career, she was a sales manager for Pulte Homes Corp.
Watson earned a B.A in finance with a minor in mathematics from the University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign.
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Julie Lee has joined Murray Hill Properties as a director.
Lee specializes in tenant representation and will focuses on the full spectrum of services, from space acquisitions to lease negotiations.
She has successfully represented notable clients such as Iron Chef Masaharu Morimoto, Shinsegae Department Stores, and CZ by Kenneth Jay Lane Jewelry.
Previously, Lee worked as an associate director at MPGCRE.
She Lee graduated from Queens College with a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology, and received her Master of Arts in TESOL from Columbia University.
A native New Yorker, Lee is fluent in Korean.
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Jared S. London has joined Murray Hill Properties as an office leasing specialist.
London graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Madison with a double major in Economics and Communications, and a minor in Spanish.
During his college career he spent six months studying at Universidad de Pablo Olavide in Seville, Spain. London works alongside Marc Miller, a senior broker with more than 30 years of tenant representation experience whose client base spans boutique investment and law firms to global concerns with New York area headquarters or sales offices.
London is focusing on business development and client service.
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Meagan Bonan has joined Murray Hill Propertiesas a sales associate within the Emery l Staav Retail Group.
Prior to joining MHP, Bonan enjoyed a successful sales career in the media industry.
Her primary focus was managing large national clients where she developed proposals and presentations and negotiated transactions.
Previously she worked for Condé Nast and the Publishing Group at Weight Watchers International.
Bonan is a graduate of Trinity College in Hartford, CT. There she received a Bachelors of Arts in Economics.
Massey Knakal Realty Services announced that Gabriela Figueras has joined the firm as a human resources associate.
Previously, Figueras was human resources co-ordinator and lead recruiter at HUGO BOSS in New York.
Earlier, she was a campus representative at Accenture in New York. She also spent time as a human resources intern at Juicy Couture.
Figueras earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in English, Business Writing and Technical Editing with a Minor in Spanish Studies from the University of Delaware.
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Massey Knakal Realty Services announced that Stephanie Mitchell has joined the firm as an associate. She will be working alongside Robert Burton, focusing on Chinatown, Hudson Square, NoLIta, and SoHo.
Prior to Massey Knakal, Mitchell was an intern at Horizon Kinetics LLC in New York City. Earlier, she served as an intern at Duke Realty Corporation in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Mitchell graduated cum laude from the University of Florida with a Bachelor of Science degree in Accounting.
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Massey Knakal Realty Services announced that Charlotte Myers has joined the firm as an associate. She will be working alongside chairman Bob Knakal and his team, focusing on Hudson Yards, Midtown West, and Penn Station.
Prior to Massey Knakal, Myers was an intern at CBS Watch! Magazine in New York City. Earlier, she served as a marketing and research intern at Frontline Marketing in Darien, CT.
Myers graduated magna cum laude from Colgate University where she earned her Bachelor of Arts degree in Sociology and Anthropology.
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Massey Knakal Realty Services announced Michael Han has joined the firm as an associate. He will be working alongside Stephen R. Preuss, focusing on numerous neighborhoods in Queens.
Prior to Massey Knakal, Han was an investment banking summer analyst at a boutique investment bank in New York. Earlier, he served as a wealth management summer analyst in Private Wealth Management at Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
He earned his Bachelor of Arts degree in Economics from the University of Michigan.
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Proskauer announced that Michael J. Choate has joined the firm’s Real Estate Capital Markets group as a partner.
Choate has a distinguished track record with almost 25 years’ experience in REITs, securities and corporate finance, corporate governance, and mergers and acquisitions.
He will be joined by Kevin M. Lippert who will serve as Senior Counsel.
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Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman LLP (BBWG) announced that Allison R. Lissner has joined the firm as a partner in the Real Estate Transactional Department in New York.
She will focus primarily on commercial leasing, acquisitions, sales and financing.
Lissner has a broad range of experience in all areas of commercial real estate, with a particular emphasis on office and retail leasing.
Prior to joining BBWG, Lissner was a partner in the Manhattan office of Cole, Schotz, Meisel, Forman & Leonard, P.A.
She is a member of the International Council of Shopping Centers, the New York Commercial Real Estate Women (NYCREW), the New York State Bar Association and the New Jersey State Bar Association. She is co-chair of the Membership Committee for NYCREW, and also serves on the Community Outreach Committee for NYCREW.
Admitted to practice in New York and New Jersey, Lissner earned her J.D., magna cum laude, from Seton Hall University School of Law, where she was the Notes and Comments editor of the Seton Hall Constitutional Law Journal. She earned her B.A., cum laude, from Ramapo College of New Jersey.
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Winston & Strawn LLP has announced Christine A. Spletzer and Bola Oloko have joined the firm’s real estate practice in the New York office.
Spletzer, who was previously with Winston & Strawn, rejoins the firm as partner from Paul Hastings, and Oloko joins as Of Counsel from Duval & Stachenfeld.
Christine Spletzer concentrates her practice in the areas of capital markets real estate finance and commercial mortgage-backed securitization.
She also has experience in the acquisition and disposition of both distressed and performing real estate assets.
Spletzer recently acted as U.S. issuer’s counsel in connection with a cross-border single asset securitization involving a Canadian hotel portfolio.
Bola Oloko is an experienced issuer’s and underwriters’ counsel in the commercial mortgage-backed securities area.
His recent securitization experience includes representing operating advisors in connection with new-issue CMBS 2.0 transactions and counseling other market participants in connection with issues arising out of legacy CMBS and other securitization transactions.
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CBRE Group, Inc. announced that Chris Ludeman has been named global president, Capital Markets.
Ludeman will oversee the global growth and integration of CBRE’s Capital Markets Services business line, including its Investment Sales, Debt & Structure Finance and Capital Advisors (investment banking) activities worldwide.
Ludeman will work closely with CBRE’s Capital Markets leaders around the world.
A 33-year veteran of CBRE, Ludeman started as a sales trainee with the firm in 1980. Most recently, he has served as president of the Capital Markets business in the Americas.
Before that, he ran CBRE’s Brokerage business in the Americas. Earlier in his career, Ludeman served in several regional and local market leadership positions.
He is a member of CBRE’s Global Operating Committee, Americas Executive Board and Americas Operations Management Board, and is a past recipient of the J. Frank Mahoney Award for Excellence in Management; CBRE and the James J. Didion Award for Executive Excellence. He is a graduate of the University of California, Santa Barbara.
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AR Capital, LLC (ARC) announced that, following the close of American Realty Capital Properties acquisition of CapLease, it will hire five CapLease senior executives: Paul McDowell; Shawn Seale; Robert Blanz; Paul Hughes; and Bill Pollert.
These executives bring a total of nearly 100 years of combined net lease real estate experience to ARC’s advisory business, highlighted by an in-depth knowledge of the office and industrial sectors.
McDowell will become president – Office & Industrial Group. He will be joined by Blanz, who will serve as senior vice president and head of acquisitions – Office & Industrial Group. Seale and Pollert will become senior vice presidents and Hughes joins ARC as assistant General Counsel.
