9:45 AM
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank (NGKF) has recruited five of Orange County’s top tenant and landlord representation brokers. Jay Nugent, George Thomson, Greg Puccinelli, and James Estrada have all come on board as senior managing directors with NGKF’s Orange County team. In addition, Naomi Rizkowsky joins NGKF’s Orange County office as an associate.
Recognized for their regional market dominance, Nugent, Thomson, Puccinelli, and Estrada have long combined their expertise to service some of the nation’s leading institutional players that include Torchlight, TIAA, Goldman Sachs, Blackstone/EOP, Steelwave, Parallel Capital Partners, Clarion Partners, Barrons, LNR, CT Realty, Colony Capital, among others.
“Joining NGKF provides us with a strategic opportunity to align with a best-in-class and growing capital markets team. There is a great synergy between our client relationships and the team here at NGKF. We look forward to building our market share with NGKF and leveraging the strength of this firm’s national platform,” said Nugent.
“A brokerage firm today is about people. Having the right people in place to provide a greater depth of client service across the real estate transaction whether that crosses landlord, tenant, leasing or investment is critical. The caliber of George, Jay, Greg, James and Naomi is unparalleled. I am excited to have them join our Southern California region and further build our Orange County office dominance,” said Greg May, regional managing director, NGKF.
Prior to joining NGKF, Nugent was a senior vice president with JLL where he was head of the Orange County Agency group, specializing in representing landlords. Throughout his 15-year career, Nugent has represented large institutional owners of real estate exclusively with their lease negotiations and dispositions. Prior to working in Orange County, Nugent was a senior vice president with Richards Barry Joyce & Partners in Boston. In the past 15 years he has executed more than 7 million square feet of leases and sales with landlord leasing experience encompassing more than 8 million square feet of institutionally owned office space.
Thomson joins from JLL where he was a senior vice president specializing in representing landlords and tenants in Orange County and the Los Angeles area. He brings more than 28 years of experience in real estate brokerage, finance, acquisition and development having completed more than 400 transactions with a total value in excess of $1 billion. Prior to joining JLL, Thomson was a principal with Lee & Associates. In addition, he was founder and president of Westbridge Realty Advisors.
Prior to joining NGKF, Puccinelli served as senior vice president in JLL’s Agency Leasing group in Orange County where he advised landlords and tenants. Prior to joining JLL, he was senior vice president at Grubb and Ellis Company, and the Office Properties Group at CBRE. Over the course of a 20 year career, he has been involved in transactions valued at more than $750 million.
Estrada was formerly a senior vice president with JLL, specializing in representing landlords and tenants in Orange County. He has over 30 years of commercial real estate experience including leasing, property management and construction. During his extensive career in commercial real estate, James had negotiated and completed thousands of leases valued in excess of $750 million, while overseeing and representing a portfolio over 8 million square feet. Previously, Estrada served as director at Cushman & Wakefield. He also worked as director of leasing for the Bixby Land Company.
Naomi Rizkowsky also joins NGKF from JLL where she was an associate focused on class A and B agency leasing transactions in Orange County. Prior to joining the Orange County JLL team, she worked at CBRE in San Diego.
This announcement comes on the heels of a number of high-profile broker recruitment announcements made by NGKF in Southern California, including the addition of Kevin Shannon, president of West Coast Capital Markets for NGKF. Under Shannon the Capital Markets team has grown to 24 team members across Southern California.
About Newmark Grubb Knight Frank
Newmark Grubb Knight Frank is one of the world’s leading commercial real estate advisory firms. Together with London-based partner Knight Frank and independently-owned offices, NGKF’s 14,100 professionals operate from more than 400 offices in established and emerging property markets on six continents.
With roots dating back to 1929, NGKF’s strong foundation makes it one of the most trusted names in commercial real estate. NGKF’s full-service platform comprises BGC’s real estate services segment, offering commercial real estate tenants, landlords, investors and developers a wide range of services including leasing; capital markets services, including investment sales, debt placement, appraisal, and valuation services; commercial mortgage brokerage services; as well as corporate advisory services, consulting, project and development management, and property and corporate facilities management services. For further information, visit www.ngkf.com.
NGKF is a part of BGC Partners, Inc., a leading global brokerage company servicing the financial and real estate markets. BGC’s common stock trades on the NASDAQ Global Select Market under the ticker symbol (NASDAQ: BGCP). BGC also has an outstanding bond issuance of Senior Notes due June 15, 2042, which trade on the New York Stock Exchange under the symbol (NYSE: BGCA). BGC Partners is led by Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Howard W. Lutnick. For more information, please visit http://www.bgcpartners.com/.