CBRE announces new executive leadership roles

Mike Lafitte to focus on Trammell Crow role

CBRE's Mike Lafitte, Chris Kirk, Chandra Dhandapani and Bob Sulentic (CBRE, Google Maps)
CBRE's Mike Lafitte, Chris Kirk, Chandra Dhandapani and Bob Sulentic (CBRE, Google Maps)

UPDATED May 26, 2022, 12:30 p.m.: CBRE’s Mike Lafitte will drop his role as CEO of real estate investments to focus on Trammell Crow Company, where he has served as CEO since 2021. CBRE acquired Trammell Crow in 2006 and it has grown to be the largest commercial real estate development company in the U.S.

Trammell Crow had $19.8 billion of projects in process and $10.1 billion in its pipeline as of the end of March, with 66 million square feet under construction as of June 30, 2021. The company also has established a growing presence in the U.K. and continental Europe. Lafitte also has assumed oversight of CBRE’s Client Care program. Danny Queenan will take over as CEO of real estate investments. Queenan led REI in 2018 and 2019 before being named CEO of Advisory Services in January 2020, and earlier in his career, was CEO of Trammell Crow Company.

The announcement came amid a series of management changes at CBRE.

“The new responsibilities we are announcing today play to each executive’s unique strengths and capitalize on their outstanding track records of driving growth and excellence,” said CBRE president and CEO Bob Sulentic in a statement. “These changes will help us realize the full range of significant opportunities we foresee for our clients, people, and shareholders.”

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Chandra Dhandapani was named the CEO of Global Workplace Solutions. She most recently served as chief operating officer of Global Workplace Solutions and Chief Transformation Officer for CBRE. She joined CBRE as Chief Digital & Technology Officer in 2016. She led a transformation of the company’s digital strategy and technology infrastructure.

Chris Kirk, the current COO of CBRE, has been given elevated responsibilities. He will share responsibility with President & Chief Executive Officer Bob Sulentic to “drive excellence across the entire company, with dotted-line oversight of the three business segments,’’ according to the statement. He has also been given direct oversight of Project Management, and remains part of the GWS segment, reporting to Dhandapani.

Jack Durburg assumed the responsibilities of CEO of Advisory Services.

Durburg has been CEO of Global Workplace Solutions since January 2020 and was Global COO in 2018 and 2019, where he oversaw all global business lines that are now part of CBRE’s Advisory Services segment. He also served as CEO of the Americas and Global President for Brokerage Services earlier in his career.

Correction: Corrects headline and first two paragraphs to show that Mike Lafitte will drop his role as CEO of real estate investments to focus on Trammell Crow. Updates square feet under construction in second paragraph.