Newmark retail broker Yunis defects to CBRE

One of Newmark Knight Frank’s top retail brokers, Amira Yunis, has left the brokerage to join CBRE, CBRE announced today. Yunis will join the company’s Midtown Manhattan office as an executive vice president in retail services, effective next Monday.

Yunis, who has been with Newmark since 2000, served most recently as executive vice president and principal of the company, where she brokered several high-profile deals such as a Trader Joe’s lease at Union Square (the retailer’s first lease in the city) and an 8,500-square-foot space at the Fred French Building at 551 Fifth Avenue to the clothing retailer Tommy Bahama.

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“Amira has steadily and intelligently built a notable retail real estate business in New York, including prime international and national brands,” said Matt Van Buren, president of the New York tri-state region at CBRE. “She has also represented distinguished retail landlords throughout the city, making her one of the best professionals in her field.”

Yunis is one of the first Newmark executives to defect to another brokerage since the company was acquired by BGC Partners in October, the New York Observer said. As previously reported, a shift in the commission structure at the brokerage, requiring brokers to contribute up to 10 percent of their commissions into stock in BGC, may be causing some employees to take pause. — Katherine Clarke