Movers & Shakers: RKF hires former retail head of JLL Brazil…and more

RKF hired the former head of JLL’s retail department in Brazil. 

Alex Cesar has joined RKF as a senior director in the firm’s Miami office. At JLL, Cesar led tenant representation, agency leasing, market studies and capital markets activities. Before that, he handled leasing for BR Malls, where he oversaw a 3-million-square-foot portfolio spread across six malls in Brazil. Higher profile transactions include the largest Nike Factory store in Latin America, in Recife, Brazil; and Oakley’s flagship store in Ipanema.

Schwartz Media Strategies, a public relations and digital media strategy firm, promoted Yudi Fernandez to the vice president. Her clients include JLL, Skanska USA, Apollo Bank, Pipeline Workspaces, Atton Hotels and CREW-Miami (Commercial Real Estate Women).

The Washington Park Hotel made two hires: Vikash Maharaj will serve as general manager, and Ken Tutt will serve as director of sales & marketing, leading operations and revenue generation for the next phase of the redeveloped hotel, which is slated to officially open this fall.

Maharaj has more than 28 years of hospitality experience, including executive leadership positions with Hilton and Sheraton. Tutt has held sales and marketing positions with Hyatt Hotels, Noble House Resorts, Morgans Hotel Group and most recently, Sagamore Partners.

The Washington Park was redeveloped by Steve Witkoff and the Carlyle Group. Highgate is managing the 182-room property at 1050 Washington Avenue. It will also include the bar and restaurant, Employees Only, which is based in New York.

Douglas Elliman Development Marketing named Carolina Rainer director of sales for 1 Hotel & Homes South Beach. Rainer now oversees sales of the penthouse residences. Available units are priced from $3.3 million to more than $18 million.

Elliman also brought on Cristina Diez as a realtor associate based out of its Design District office, Diez, active in Coral Gables, spent the last 16 years at Century 21 Premier Elite also as a realtor associate. She also ran her own residential mortgage financing company, which specialized in conventional and FHA loans, for 13 years.

Federico Balestrazzi was hired at the international engineering firm Thornton Tomasetti as a vice president in its façade engineering practice. Based out of the company’s new Miami office, he will serve as the practice leader for the mid-Atlantic south region. Balestrazzi has more than 15 years of experience in façade and structural design, project management and testing, and restoration and repair.

Lourdes Diego and Alicia McCormack Malave are now sales associates at Paramount Miami Worldcenter. OneWorld Properties handles sales for the planned 60-story tower. Diego was previously an account manager consultant with the Coral Gables-based Rodriguez Group.

McCormack Malave has 20 years of experience in pr-construction sales, and was previously a sales associate with Fortune International Realty at Downtown Doral.

Brennar Real Estate Group hired Andres Caicedo as a commercial and residential associate. He was previously owner and president of Sasupe S.A Colombia/ Sasupe S.A Panama, an investment and real estate company.

Regina Yagudina has joined Copeland & Co. Real Estate in its West Palm Beach offices as a realtor associate.

Avison Young brought on Tyler Minix as an associate in the brokerage’s capital markets group. Based in Miami, Minix will work with senior associates Marcus Christensen and Rafael Fermoselle to expand the team’s multifamily activity throughout Miami-Dade and Broward. Minix previously led Cardone Acquisition’s  procurement and acquisition of more than 1,500 multifamily units valued at more than $175 million.

Gulf Building LLC made two new hires: Michael F. Lanciault joined as vice president of preconstruction and Giovanna Alessi-Suarez as vice president of marketing.

Lanciault was most recently executive vice president of James A. Cummings, Inc., and he was the project executive for the T4 Western Terminal expansion at Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport, a $130 million contract. Alessi-Suarez was director of business development with Cummings, and has more than 25 years of marketing experience.

Boca Raton-based Penn-Florida Companies named Luanne Lenberg senior vice president of retail properties. In her new role, Lenberg develops and implements the retail components of mixed-use projects under development, as well existing commercial properties in the company’s portfolio. She was previously vice president and general manager of Sawgrass Mills, the Colonnade Outlets and the Oasis in Sunrise.