Newmark’s Fanuzzi joins JLL team

Jonathan Fanuzzi, who had been a senior managing director at Newmark Knight Frank, has joined Jones Lang LaSalle as executive vice president. He will focus on expanding JLL’s agency leasing practice, which specializes in landlord representation, and will work closely with Vice Chairmans Mitchell Konsker and Paul Glickman, a statement from Jones Lang LaSalle today said.

This follows the departure of Amira Yunis, previously an executive vice president and principal at Newmark, who has brokered several high-profile deals, such as Trader Joe’s Union Square lease. The retail broker left for CBRE last month. Some in the industry have speculated that changes to the compensation structure at Newmark, the result of their recent merger with BGC Partners, could encourage Newmark brokers to look elsewhere.

BGC Partners, a brokerage specializing in over-the-counter trading, acquired Newmark and controlling interests in all Newmark-affiliated companies in October for $63 million. Newmark’s 46 U.S. offices employ about 425 brokers, many super stars of New York City commercial real estate. But this may represent a shift in Newmark’s fortune, as the compensation structure offered by the new owner asks brokers to cough up as much as 10 percent of their fees to stock in BCG, according to published reports.

BGC separated from bond trading firm Cantor Fitzgerald in 2004. Cantor Fitzgerald was one of the first firms to reenter the commercial mortgage-backed securities market in 2009, when CMBS deals were almost completely stalled.

Fanuzzi has represented landlords Vornado and W&H Properties with his team at Newmark. Most recently, he leased 280,000 square feet at SL Green’s 100 Church, in Lower Manhattan, to the New York City Law Department.

Konsker and Glickman have worked at Jones Lang since defecting from Cushman & Wakefield in January. The pair leased 600,000 square feet lease for Ogilvy & Mather in 2008, at 46th Street and 11th Avenue, which is thought to have help open that area to higher-end tenants. The deal won the Real Estate Board of New York’s 2009 “ingenious deal of the year” award.

“Jones Lang LaSalle is ramping up its agency leasing practice in Manhattan to stay ahead of the growing needs of the city’s landlords and the rise in leasing activity throughout the market,” Konsker said in the statement. “Jonathan Fanuzzi has built a strong reputation among New York City building owners and has excellent relationships within the brokerage community.” — Guelda Voien