Cushman & Wakefield Taps 20-Year Industry Vet To Lead Struggling Cap Markets Business
Industry veteran Miles Treaster has joined Cushman & Wakefield to revamp its capital markets business, which has seen major deals decline in volume by about 31% over the last year.
The former Westbrook Partners executive will take over as president of capital markets for the Americas on Sept. 1, replacing interim leader Dan Broderick, Green Street reported. Treaster will oversee all operations and investor services as well as build up the capital markets business, including adding artificial intelligence and data to its focus.
He will be based in the brokerage's San Francisco office.
With two decades of experience in debt and equity, Treaster's appointment is part of Cushman & Wakefield's efforts to revamp the vertical, Chief Operating Officer and Global President Andrew McDonald said in a release.
“We are transforming our capital-markets business, and Miles is the right leader to drive our collaborative and data-driven approach to advising our investor clients,” McDonald said.
The hire marks a return to the firm for Treaster, who began his career at C&W as an analyst. He spent six years at DRA Advisory and 13 years at Westbrook Partners, eventually landing top managing positions at both firms. Treaster founded a firm for high net worth individuals called Five Horizons in 2022.
Treaster will be C&W's first dedicated leader of capital markets in nearly a year. Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano left the office in October 2023, and the firm reshuffled capital markets under its advisory wing in the months that followed.
The departure of di Sant’Albano was the capper to two years of departures among top C&W brokers across different types of properties, hurting investment sales volume overall, according to Green Street.
Real Estate Alert listed C&W as the fourth-most-active brokerage for deals of at least $25M in 2022. But by last week, the brokerage had fallen to fifth place through the first part of 2024, with $7.3B in sales making up about 9.6% of total market share, Green Street reported. That was down 31% from 2023.
C&W's decline was nearly double that of its peers, according to Green Street.
Cushman & Wakefield reported an overall 5% year-over-year revenue decline in the second quarter, Bisnow reported in July. The decrease was led by the sharp decline in its capital markets division.
At the time, executives said they believed interest rate cuts, expected to begin in September, could boost the business.
Broderick, the division's interim leader, will return to his role as the president of advisory services in the Americas and will oversee Treaster after passing the baton.
Broderick said Treaster is the “perfect leader to strategically drive growth and deliver sophisticated solutions for our clients.”
“He undoubtedly will strengthen our capital-markets platform for its next chapter of success.”
