Cushman & Wakefield Americas CEO Steps Down
UPDATE, 9:45 A.M. EST: This story has been updated with confirmation and details from Cushman & Wakefield.
Cushman & Wakefield CEO of the Americas Tod Lickerman has left the Chicago-based commercial real estate brokerage after four years at the helm.
A farewell post on Lickerman’s LinkedIn page alluded to the shift in leadership, Connect Group Media reports.
“After four great years helping to lead DTZ and Cushman &Wakefield, I’m happy to say that I’m taking a well-earned break,” he wrote. "Congratulations and best of luck to my colleagues, brothers and sisters at Cushman & Wakefield, I’m proud to be an alumni."
Succeeding Lickerman as CEO of the Americas (a position second only to Chairman and CEO Brett White, according to the Chicago Tribune) is Chicago real estate vet Shawn Mobley. Mobley’s promotion comes after leading Cushman’s Chicago market for five years through 2016. This year he served as regional president for the U.S. and Canada.
John Forrester, who has been chief executive of Cushman's Europe, Middle East and Africa division, and served in that role under DTZ before the companies merged, was promoted to global president.
Lickerman, who boasts 30 years of industry experience in real estate, joined Cushman in 2013. Prior to that, he served at JLL. It is unknown what company Lickerman is transitioning to next. In its press release, Cushman said Lickerman "decided to leave the company to pursue other career interests. The firm is thankful for his contribution to the business."
The leadership shake-up comes amid talks of Cushman’s plans to go public. The company has yet to file official paperwork for an initial public offering, but sources told Bloomberg executives were holding informal talks with banks earlier this year.
Cushman & Wakefield has roughly 45,000 employees and is the third-largest commercial brokerage in the world, trailing JLL and CBRE.
