Cushman & Wakefield Taps Andrew McDonald As New Americas CEO
Cushman & Wakefield has named Andrew McDonald CEO of the Americas. Previously, he was president of the Western U.S. for the Chicago-based real estate services giant.
McDonald has been with the company more than 20 years, joining Cushman Realty in 1999 before its acquisition by Cushman & Wakefield two years later, which expanded the latter's presence in the western United States.
“In his latest role, as leader of our Americas West region, he very successfully directed the firm’s operations and services lines across California, Texas, Colorado, Arizona, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Utah," Cushman & Wakefield President John Forrester said in a statement to the Commercial Observer.
McDonald replaces Shawn Mobley, who had held the job for more than two years. In a letter posted on LinkedIn, Mobley didn't offer a reason for his leaving Cushman & Wakefield but did confirm that he was doing so.
"After 9 amazing years at Cushman & Wakefield, I'm stepping down from my role as CEO of the Americas to reassess and pursue the next chapter of my career," Mobley wrote in the letter.
Before working at Cushman & Wakefield, he did stints at Grubb & Ellis and JLL.
Mobley said that he is "looking forward to diving into the changing landscape of commercial real estate" but also mentioned that he is on the board of directors of his brother's company, US Solar, "which allows me to explore opportunities in renewable energy and climate change."
During the first quarter of 2020, just as the beginning of the pandemic was hitting the U.S., Cushman & Wakefield Americas reported that its revenues were $925M, a drop of about 1% year-over-year.
In April, Cushman & Wakefield said it expected a sharp drop in revenues during the second quarter and withdrew its full-year guidance for 2020.
At the time of its first-quarter report, the company also asserted its strength for enduring the pandemic. At the end of the first quarter, Cushman & Wakefield had around $1.4B in liquidity on its balance sheet and a revolving facility of about $1B, according to company CEO Brett White
In the Americas, Cushman & Wakefield sales revenue is primarily derived from office properties (56%), with smaller portions in industrial (18%) and multifamily (15%), White said during the company's first-quarter earnings call. About 6% is in retail.
Early in 2020, Cushman & Wakefield stock traded around $20 per share, crashing in March to as low as about $8 a share. As of Thursday, it traded at $11.65 a share.
