In this role, John will be dedicated to implementing a multi-faceted strategy to grow the Canadian Retail platform, including strengthening the retail tenant representation and agency leasing service lines. He will also continue to attract and retain top talent across Canada to support the firm’s clients with the highest level of expertise in the marketplace.
“As we deepen our investment in our Retail practice, we’re thrilled to have a leader of John’s caliber join our team,” said Chuck Scott, Chief Executive Officer, Canada & Latin America. “We look forward to leveraging his in-depth industry knowledge and retail expertise to strategically grow our Retail Services platform across Canada to fully support our clients with the strongest team in the industry.”
John brings more than 25 years of commercial real estate and retail leadership experience to this new role. He most recently served as Managing Director of a boutique commercial real estate consulting firm, offering owners and space users services to help turn critical and complex real estate issues into opportunities of growth. John has held various executive positions at leading commercial real estate firms, including Triovest Realty Advisors where he served as Senior Vice President, Retail Canada & National Business Development, and was responsible for the firm’s 4 million square foot Canadian retail properties portfolio. Before his tenure at Triovest Realty Advisors, he was part of Cushman & Wakefield’s Canadian leadership team for 16 years where he held various positions including Vice President and General Manager of the Edmonton operations; Senior Managing Director of the Toronto East operations; as well as, National Retail Director, Canada, where he was responsible for the strategic direction and development of the national retail service line, overseeing 45 retail specialists across Canada.
Further to developing a robust Retail Services platform strategy and team, John will partner with internal stakeholders and build upon key retail client relationships to identify opportunities and drive strategically aligned decisions across the firm’s full suite of services to deliver optimal results.
“With the impact of ecommerce and changing consumer demands, the retail industry is undergoing a radical transformation and renaissance that will have a material shift for shopping centre real estate and design of physical stores for retailers in the future,” said Crombie. “Both owners and occupiers of retail will, more now than ever, require their broker to provide timely information, global insights and unique perspectives to ensure they make prudent real estate decisions going forward. Needless to say, I am honoured to be returning to Cushman & Wakefield and excited at the opportunity to provide enhanced leadership and professional guidance to all our retail clients across Canada.”
John is an active member of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC), including a member of the Board of Directors for the ICSC Foundation, Canada and is the 2019 Co Chair for ICSC’s Canadian Convention. He’s been acknowledged as one of the top 20 influencers in the World of Real Estate in Canada and one of the six recipients worldwide to win the Global Medallion ICSC Award for contributions to Retail Research in Canada. Additionally, John participates in the Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI) Council for Commercial Real Estate & Development (CRED) industry as an Advisory Partner.
About Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman & Wakefield (NYSE: CWK) is a leading global real estate services firm that delivers exceptional value for real estate occupiers and owners. Cushman & Wakefield is among the largest real estate services firms with approximately 51,000 employees in 400 offices and 70 countries. In 2018, the firm had revenue of $8.2 billion across core services of property, facilities and project management, leasing, capital markets, valuation and other services. To learn more, visit www.cushmanwakefield.com or follow @CushWake on Twitter.