Trammell Crow Taps Former Hobbs Brook CEO, Tishman Veteran To Lead Its Boston Office
Trammell Crow has hired Sam Schaefer to run its Boston office, tapping the former Hobbs Brook Real Estate president and CEO and Tishman Speyer executive to source financing and build the company’s portfolio in office, multifamily, life sciences and industrial markets.
Schaefer most recently led Waltham-based Hobbs Brook for two years, overseeing the firm’s 7M SF office and life sciences portfolio across Boston, Atlanta, Chicago and Singapore. Prior to that, he served as Tishman’s global head of leasing, corporate outreach and property management as part of an 18-year career at the real estate giant, overseeing a 100M SF, 112-asset global portfolio.
“We have several new projects in the pipeline and have identified strong future opportunities,” Schaefer said in a statement. “We look forward to delivering developments that improve the community.”
Trammell Crow President of Eastern Operations Adam Saphier said the firm valued Schaefer’s experience working on all sides of a real estate deal in appointing him as senior vice president and business unit leader in Boston. Schaefer is the CBRE subsidiary's second leader in Boston in two years after its first Boston boss, Charley Leatherbee, departed last month to construction giant Suffolk.
Schaefer’s new firm doesn’t tout a signature Boston project yet after being open less than a year before the coronavirus pandemic struck the industry.
While at Hobbs Brook, Schaefer oversaw projects in Boston’s suburbs that burnished the city's reputation as an attractive alternative to Cambridge for tech and life sciences companies. The company’s largest project, a 500K SF Waltham office and lab building at 225 Wyman, is expected to be delivered in March. Schaefer also led Hobbs Brook in negotiating a complex, rare office swap in Waltham between tech firm Zoominfo and a graphic design and printing firm.
Hobbs Brook, the real estate arm of American mutual insurance company FM Global, has not yet publicly named Schaefer’s successor.
CORRECTION, NOV. 17, 10 A.M. ET: An earlier version of this story incorrectly identified Trammell Crow Residential as the firm's multifamily arm. The story has been updated.
