Cushman & Wakefield Further Expands Chicago Platform with Three Top Industrial Recruits

CHICAGO – July 11, 2013 – Cushman & Wakefield, the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm, today announced Whit Heitman, Sam Badger and Brad Weiner have joined the company’s Chicago-based industrial group. The successful recruitment of this formidable and seasoned team illustrates the firm’s continued commitment to grow its entire platform, regionally and nationally, and adds further momentum to a period of notable expansion for the Chicago C&W operation across market sectors.

The announcement immediately follows the recruitment of Brian Nagle and Jerrod Wigal who rejoined the firm’s Capital Markets group in Chicago on July 9th as Executive Vice President and Director, respectively, focusing on office property investment sales throughout the Midwest Region.

Messrs. Heitman, Badger, and Weiner join Cushman & Wakefield from Paine/Wetzel TCN Worldwide, where Heitman served as Principal, Badger served as Senior Vice President and Weiner served as Vice President. The team is well known for its success in brokering industrial sale and lease transactions in the North Suburban Chicago area, particularly in Northern Cook & Lake County market and including Southeastern Wisconsin.

“Whit, Sam and Brad are well known and respected in the industrial market for their leadership in both landlord and tenant representation,” said Cushman & Wakefield’s Shawn P. Mobley, President, Central Region. “Our Chicago operations have grown significantly over the past 24 months with the addition of key professionals in every major service line. This latest move exemplifies our continued commitment toward consistent, strategic growth. We could not have asked for a better team to bolster our industrial presence in the market.”

According to Mr. Heitman, the scope of Cushman & Wakefield’s national industrial platform presented a major draw. “This firm is known globally for the depth of its resources and breadth of its relationships with investors, owners and corporate users,” he said. “We look forward to bringing these advantages to our clients while contributing our expertise to Cushman & Wakefield as it increases its Chicago-area presence.”

According to Cushman & Wakefield’s John Morris, leader of Industrial Services for the Americas, this targeted expansion comes at an opportune time. “The Chicago industrial market is really booming,” he said. “The region is currently among the U.S. leaders in both leasing and user sales. For our firm, this addition translates into a terrific growth opportunity, and within this context we expect that Whit, Sam and Brad will make their mark among Cushman & Wakefield’s top industrial producers, locally and nationally.”

Cushman & Wakefield's industrial brokerage platform provides global resources and local expertise for tenant and landlord representation, disposition and acquisition services, transaction management and industrial consulting services. In 2012, in the U.S. alone, this group completed more than 7,000 industrial real estate transactions – totaling 261 million square feet – with an aggregate value in excess of $8.43 billion. The platform has grown 63% since 2010.

About Cushman & Wakefield

Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest privately-held commercial real estate services firm. The company advises and represents clients on all aspects of property occupancy and investment, and has established a preeminent position in the world’s major markets, as evidenced by its frequent involvement in many of the most significant property leases, sales and assignments. Founded in 1917, it has 253 offices in 60 countries and nearly 15,000 employees. It offers a complete range of services for all property types, including leasing, sales and acquisitions, equity, debt and structured finance, corporate finance and investment banking, corporate services, property management, facilities management, project management, consulting and appraisal. The firm has more than $3.7 billion in assets under management globally. A recognized leader in local and global real estate research, the firm publishes its market information and studies online at www.cushmanwakefield.com/knowledge.