Grubb broker heads to Avison Young

Another Grubb & Ellis broker has jumped ship, following Cushman ex-CEO Arthur Mirante to Avison Young, the Canadian commercial brokerage making headway into the New York City market, the New York Observer reported.

Michael Gottlieb, called “one of the most highly regarded dealmakers at Grubb & Ellis,” by the Observer, will head to Avison in the wake of the combination of Grubb & Ellis and Newmark Knight Frank, which was renamed Newmark Grubb Knight Frank, by BCG Partners.

“Avison Young’s principal-led, client-service model is extremely appealing,” Gottlieb told the Observer.

Gottlieb represented insurance giant Prudential in a 225,000-square-foot lease in Woodbridge Township, N.J. in 2010, according to published reports.

Yoav Olsener, another Grubb & Ellis broker, also departed the firm effective today, according to a statement from Jones Lang LaSalle’s capital markets group sent to The Real Deal, which hired him as an executive vice president. [NYO]