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Mark Jaccom no longer leading Cresa New York
Brokerage planning "roll-up" that could lead to merger of dozens of independent offices
UPDATED, Jan. 10, 2:46 p.m.: Mark Jaccom stepped down last week as the head of Cresa’s struggling New York office, the commercial brokerage’s chief executive Jim Underhill told The Real Deal.
Jaccom, who has served as president and managing principal of Cresa New York since 2012 after a stint at Colliers International, will stay on as a vice chair in a purely broker capacity, Underhill said.
Underhill said he is in the process of appointing new leadership positions in the New York office. He is also looking to hire several more brokers in that office, and acquire smaller brokerages.
“We anticipate embarking on an ambitious recruitment initiative in New York,” Underhill said.
The tenant representation brokerage is in the late stages of formalizing a company-wide restructuring known as a “roll-up,” according to sources familiar with the plans. The roll-up would result in the merger of many of the company’s 70 independently owned offices into a single Washington, D.C.-based entity. The parent company for the roll-up would be known as Cresa Global.
Jaccom is now negotiating a possible renewal of his five-year contract, which is set to expire in June, according to a source close to Jaccom, who declined to comment.
Multiple sources disputed this, saying the negotiations are for a termination of his contract.
Cresa’s [TRDataCustom] 31-broker New York operation hasn’t been able to make much of a dent in office or retail leasing in recent years. Recent deals included nonprofit Lower Eastside Service Center’s 13,400-square-foot lease at 80 Maiden Lane and C-level event organizer Argyle Executive Forum’s 13,130-square-foot lease at 50 Broad Street.
Cresa has also lost a few of its key players in the last few months. Marcus Rayner, vice chair of brokerage services, decamped for Colliers International in October. And in December, Ed Wartels and Justin Halpern, who were both principals at Cresa New York, decamped for Cushman & Wakefield. Before leaving, the duo brokered software development firm Pivotal Labs’ 43,000-square-foot lease at 636 Sixth Avenue.
The brokerage, long based in Boston, relocated its headquarters to Washington, D.C., after Underhill was named CEO in March 2016. The company operates in more than 75 markets worldwide with over 1,000 employees, according to its website.
Cresa’s overall revenue in 2015 was $295 million, according to data the firm provided to the Wall Street Journal. The company expanded into India and Germany last year.