Mike Lafitte Steps Down as CEO of Dallas’ Trammell Crow Company

The undisputed giant of Dallas real estate has a new leader. Mike Lafitte is stepping down as CEO of Trammell Crow Company after just two years and will be replaced by Dannny Queenan.

Lafitte has been with the company since 1997 and once served as the global CEO of real estate investments for the massive firm CBRE Group which has owned Crow for nearly two decades. Lafitte’s exit from the company was disclosed in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the Dallas Morning News reported.

Lafitte will officially depart Feb. 17, the filing stated.

“Serving as CEO of Trammell Crow Co. for the past few years has been the honor of my life in business,” Lafitte said in a media statement. “Now I am looking forward to serving on various boards, investing in real estate along with other business opportunities, staying active in the community and spending more quality time with family and friends.”

Queenan will step into the top role at Crow after being in charge of CBRE’s investment sector, which Trammell Crow falls under, for the past year.

The CBRE and Trammell Crow real estate umbrella spreads wide across the country but is most noticeable here in North Texas. CBRE led the nation in real estate investment sales for the 17th year in a row, and Dallas-Fort Worth led all U.S. metros for commercial property deals, finishing ahead of Manhattan, with $42.5 billion in sales, according to data from MSCI Inc.

Quennan’s first project may be to get the $200 million high-rise development meant to serve as the new headquarters of CBRE in Uptown back on track. The development has hit a wall, and questions arise as to whether the planned 27-story building is still happening.

As for Lafitte’s future, CBRE announced that he will be “pursuing outside business and investment opportunities and personal interests.”