C&W forms International Services Group

Real Estate Weekly, Nov 21, 2001

Cushman & Wakefield, the world's largest, fully integrated, global commercial real estate services firm, announced the formation of its International Services Group. The group is responsible for helping Cushman & Wakefield's professionals secure, transact and provide business solutions on a global scale by capitalizing on Cushman & Wakefield's presence in all of the world's major business centers.

In addition to 46 offices in the United States, including the firm's world headquarters in New York, Cushman & Wakefield operates more than 100 offices throughout Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia, Latin America and Canada.

John B. Coppedge III, executive vice president, has been selected to lead the International Services Group.

According to Coppedge, the International Services Group's main focus is to help U.S. brokerage professionals access Cushman & Wakefield's international resources to serve global clients.

The group will work closely with the firm's brokerage professionals to generate referrals for global business from the United States, and provide U.S. brokerage professionals with a single point of contact for accessing, promoting and managing business opportunities.

"We've been expanding our global operations for several years," said Coppedge. "This stemmed from the idea that in order to serve every aspect of a clients real estate needs in every potential market, we needed a significant presence in all the major business centers across the globe. The formation of the International Services Group is a natural progression, intended to bring transcontinental leads and solutions face to face."

The International Services Group will have responsibilities for ensuring maximum efficiency in serving global corporations. The team will work to develop consistent programs to help brokerage professionals source and service business, manage day-to-day accounts and transactions and ensure seamless service delivery in the United States from referrals overseas.

Members of the International Service Group have in-depth knowledge of Europe, the Middle East and Africa (EMEA), Asia, Latin America and Canada.

In addition to Coppedge, who has been affiliated with Cushman & Wakefield since 1977 as broker, branch manager, regional director of the Financial Services Group and managing director, Europe/Asia Operations, the team will consist of five executives from Cushman & Wakefield offices across the United States.

Simon H L Buckley, director, and Peter Baxter, associate director, based in New York, will serve as contacts for Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Asia. Buckley was previously an executive with Cushman & Wakefield's European arm, Healey & Baker. He was based in the firm's Channel Islands office from 1995 to 2000, where he concentrated on industrial brokerage, property management and development/ site acquisition. Baxter was previously an acquisition manager with Whitbread Plc's corporate real estate department, which was a client of Healey & Baker's based in the United Kingdom.

Arshpreet Chaudhry, director, and Jessica Tornek, associate director, based in San Francisco, will serve as contacts for Asia Pacific. Chaudhry was director of corporate services for Cushman & Wakefield India, from 1997 until 2001.

Tornek joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1999, from Aeon Intercultural Corp., based in Kobe, Japan.

Philip H. Grossberg, director, based in Miami, Fla., will serve as contact for Latin America. Grossberg is a 15-year veteran of General Motors Corp., where he spent eight years as a member of GM's corporate real estate team, including four years as Latin American real estate manager in Sao Paulo, Brazil.