Greg May, western region leader at Newmark, parts ways with firm

Another Southern California commercial real estate veteran, Greg May, has stepped into the void.

The executive vice president for Newmark in charge of 12 company offices, including Los Angeles, Las Vegas and Phoenix, was let go by the company, Connect CRE and the Commercial Observer reported.

The western region leader will be replaced by Newmark’s L.A. Market Leader Nick DiPaolo, who has been with the New York-based firm since 2021. Neither May, DiPaolo, nor a representative from Newmark could be reached for comment.

May, based in Irvine, had been with Newmark since 2005 but has worked in the commercial real estate industry since the late 1980s, with other leadership roles at CBRE, USAA Real Estate and Transwestern.

He is credited with expanding the SoCal professional brokerage personnel by 250 percent over five years, according to Connect CRE. Among his recruits to Newmark were Kevin Shannon and his capital markets staff, Jay Nugent and Matt Berres. 

He has mentored dozens of brokers while with Newmark, and oversaw more than 300 commercial real estate brokers, according to his LinkedIn page.

His exit is the latest executive shake-up to roil commercial real estate.

This month, office dealmaker Tony Morales stepped down or was pushed out of his job as senior managing director of JLL’s Los Angeles office.

It was a position Morales commanded for 16 years as a broker of real estate leases and a tenant representative for such companies as DirectTV, Disney, William Morris Endeavor, Herbalife, Spotify and Cartoon Network.

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Los Angeles

Veteran LA office tenant rep Tony Morales leaves JLL

New York

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National

JLL eyes layoffs as profits tumble 59%

New York City dealmaker Bob Knakal was abruptly let go of JLL earlier this month after six years at the firm. The highly recognized broker had done $22 billion in deals during his career.

Unidentified sources told the Observer that JLL had bounced Knakal to shift its brokerage strategy away from individual star power toward a more cohesive investment banking approach.

Also, Carl Muhlstein, who had led JLL’s international sales since 2012, slipped out of its Los Angeles office in December to start his own firm. Last month, longtime New York broker Darcy Stacom also left CBRE to launch her own firm.

— Dana Bartholomew