Brookfield’s Travis Overall Jumps to Cushman

Travis Overall is trading an operations seat for a brokerage helm in Houston.

Overall stepped down as head of New York-based Brookfield Properties’ Texas region to take over as managing principal of Chicago-based Cushman & Wakefield’s Houston office, the firm announced. The Houston Business Journal reported that in the role, he’ll oversee the brokerage’s local advisory business, which includes more than 250 employees, about 60 brokers and a property management portfolio spanning roughly 34 million square feet.

Overall will also lead recruiting efforts in Houston, reporting to Chris Hipps, Cushman & Wakefield’s executive regional director for Texas.

The move puts a deeply entrenched owner-side executive at the controls of one of the city’s largest brokerage firms. At Brookfield Properties, Overall ran all aspects of the firm’s Texas operations, from leasing and property management to development, construction and accounting.

Brookfield ranks as Houston’s third-largest commercial real estate owner, with about 10 million square feet locally across offices, retail, multifamily projects and hotels.

Before joining Brookfield in 2017, Overall spent 19 years at Hines, where he worked on the acquisition, disposition, development and management of more than $2 billion worth of Class A commercial real estate, according to the release. He’s also been a fixture in Houston’s civic and real estate circles, serving as a past president of NAIOP Houston and holding board seats with the Texas Medical Center, Central Houston, Boys & Girls Country and the University of Houston School of Architecture Advisory Council.

At Cushman, Overall replaces Clint Bawcom, who stepped down last summer after four years leading the Houston office and crossed the aisle to become head of Transwestern Real Estate Services’ Houston operation.

The hire comes as Cushman continues to bulk up in Texas, particularly in Houston. Over the past year, the firm has landed several high-profile additions, including a team of office leasing brokers from Parkway Property Investments and multiple capital markets hires across Houston, Dallas and Austin.

— Eric Weilbacher