Cresa Chairman on Big Changes and "Philosophical Differences"
Cresa, the nation’s largest independent tenant rep firm, which just had a reshuffle of its top management with the departure of CEO Jim Leslie, is in the midst of other big changes. Chairman and Interim CEO Richard Rhodes tells Bisnow the Boston-based broker is on the fast track to expand globally.
By May, Rich expects to open eight new offices in Europe and Asia. The firm also will “make significant headway” in Australia and New Zealand. In the past 12 months, it opened offices in London, Brussels, Amsterdam and six Dutch cities through its February acquisition of the Netherlands-based RentReview. Cresa reps several real estate users that have international operations and these businesses like the tenant rep platform in which their needs come first, Rich says.
Former CEO Jim Leslie, who served in that position since 2012 (above with Cresa Dallas managing principal Susan Arledge), has “philosophical differences” with current corporate strategy, Rich says. Jim will still lead Cresa Capital Markets and remains a shareholder in the Orange County office. He’s the managing partner of Wolverine Interests, which is developing a 150k SF office building in Texas’ Frisco Square in a JV with Encore Office. He's also managing partner of Leslie Enterprises and chairman of the board for Ascendant Solutions.
