Cushman & Wakefield CEO steps down after 35 years of service

Cushman and Wakefield has announced that longterm CEO John Forrester is set to retire from the position and step down from the company’s board after 35 years of service. His resignation will be effective as of 30 June, and in his place, the group has appointed Michelle MacKay, currently president and chief operating officer (COO), to assume the role of CEO as of 1 July. Forrester will remain as a strategic advisor until 31 December 2023. Brett White, who remains as chair of the board, said: “On behalf of Cushman and Wakefield’s board of directors, I thank John for his dedication and service to the firm and to the commercial real estate services industry over his long and distinguished career. “John is a revered industry leader known for his integrity, work ethic and deep client knowledge. His tremendous efforts over the past several years have strengthened the firm’s foundation and culture and the board is sincerely grateful for his contribution.” Forrester said: “It has been an honour to lead Cushman and Wakefield as CEO through its post-Covid transitionary period, which underscored the firm’s industry leadership, our core values and strengths and culminated in record company revenue and EBITDA in 2022. “I am proud of our great company and what our Cushman and Wakefield colleagues around the world have accomplished. I have great confidence in Michelle as a proven leader who will offer the firm exceptional vision, strategy and direction for achieving its performance and growth goals.” MacKay joined the real estate firm as a member of its board of directors in 2018. She was appointed to the position of COO in 2020 and promoted to president and COO on 1 January, 2022, with direct operational and management oversight of many of the firm’s service lines and regions, including the EMEA region, Global Occupier Services and C&W Services. MacKay is described as a “seasoned” commercial real estate executive with more than 30 years of experience at a variety of public and privately held companies. She has served on three public company boards and was previously executive VP, Investments and head of Capital Markets at iStar, Inc. a real estate investment trust (REIT) company. She also has significant capital allocation and financial institution expertise, having served in leadership roles at UBS (previously Paine Webber), JPMorgan Chase and The Hartford Insurance Company’s investment arm HIMCO. MacKay said: “I’m looking forward to leading this great firm through its next chapter of strategic growth. Cushman and Wakefield’s unique entrepreneurial culture and employee expertise position us to not only successfully navigate the current challenges in commercial real estate services, but to also deliver long-term value, profitability and growth.”

Cushman & Wakefield CEO steps down after 35 years of service

In his place, the group has appointed Michelle MacKay, currently president and chief operating officer (COO), to assume the role

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