Avison Young promotes Mark Fieder and Keith Lipton to new senior positions
Lipton becomes COO for U.S. while Fieder is promoted to COO for Canada
TORONTO, June 29, 2015 /CNW/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today the promotions of Avison Young Principals Mark Fieder and Keith Lipton.
Effective immediately, Fieder becomes Chief Operating Officer, Canadian Operations, while Lipton will serve as Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Operations. Both will remain Principals of Avison Young, with Fieder continuing to be based in Toronto and Lipton in Washington, DC.
"Today's strategic promotions to newly created senior executive positions acknowledge the outstanding contributions that Mark and Keith have made to Avison Young's ongoing aggressive global expansion program," comments Rose. "Mark has helped Avison Young develop a well-established market share throughout Canada, and Keith has played a leading role in the execution of a U.S. expansion strategy that has achieved exceptional growth in a short period of time. Despite the challenges of the Great Recession and often trying conditions in two unique national markets, they have helped Avison Young reach unprecedented growth levels that will increase even more in coming years thanks to the initiatives that they have already launched."
As Chief Operating Officers for their respective countries, Lipton and Fieder will oversee ongoing business operations and be responsible for growing the firm through recruitment and acquisitions. Focused on delivering what Avison Young clients are demanding, they will each play a key role in the management of the company's full-service platform across their respective countries. In addition, they will remain members of Avison Young's executive committee and help drive corporate growth initiatives globally.
Rose continues: "By expanding Mark and Keith's responsibilities, we will ensure that our clients, employees and other stakeholders receive the full benefits of their leadership, mentorship, operational and advisory expertise, market knowledge, innovative strategies and business savvy. Their promotions will also enable other Principals to dedicate more time and attention to future growth in Europe and, eventually, Asia, Latin America and other regions.
According to Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations: "Mark and Keith live and breathe our culture and collaborative approach, and will continue to provide leadership as we execute on our aggressive growth plan. Moreover, Mark and Keith are coming to their new roles from two different countries and different areas of the business, but are meeting in the exact same place as all other Avison Young Principals – to partner for performance."
Fieder brings to his new role more than 30 years of commercial real estate experience. A founding Principal of Avison Young, he has been engaged in various leadership roles with the firm over the past 25 years. He most recently served as Managing Director, Eastern Canada, responsible for Ontario, Quebec and Atlantic Canada operations. Under Fieder's leadership, the company's Eastern Canadian operations quadrupled in size. Highlights include growing the Greater Toronto Area offices from two to four locations, expanding Southwestern Ontario coverage to include Guelph (Kitchener/Waterloo) and London, and strengthening the Maritime operations by growing the Halifax location and opening a new office in Moncton, NB.
Fieder started his real estate career with Knowlton Realty upon receiving a Bachelor of Arts honours degree in urban development from Western University. For the first 18 years of his career, he was recognized at both Knowlton Realty and Avison Young as a top producing brokerage professional, specializing in corporate real estate acquisitions and dispositions. Subsequent to his role as a broker, he moved into a leadership role, managing the Toronto operations of Avison Young.
Fieder has served on the Avison Young board of directors and, in 2010, received the company's Award of Excellence and was named Managing Director of the Year. In addition to being a broker of record in Ontario, he is a licensed mortgage broker with the Financial Services Commission of Ontario. He has been an active member of NAIOP's Greater Toronto chapter, where he was a board member from 2009 to 2011, and has held past board roles with Freestyle Ontario Skiing Association, York Mills Hockey Club and a variety of charitable organizations. He currently participates with a committee to help raise funds for the Ontario Science Centre.
"We have an incredible team of talented professionals across Canada, including the best managing director leadership group in the industry," says Fieder. "It is my passion and pleasure to help support our professionals and the leadership group of our Principal-led firm by providing the tools to deliver solutions that exceed our clients' expectations."
For the past five years, Lipton has served as Principal and Managing Director of the firm's Washington Metropolitan Area. He joined Avison Young in 2009 to open the company's second U.S. office. Since Avison Young established its first Washington, DC office in November 2009 with three employees under Lipton's leadership, the firm has acquired Appian Realty Advisors, LLC; Millennium Realty Advisors, LLC; Realty Management Company; and McShea & Company, Inc. in the region, and opened additional offices in Tysons Corner, VA (2010) and Suburban Maryland (2012). Avison Young's DC Metro region now has approximately 30 million square feet (msf) of agency leasing, 10 msf of property under management and 250 employees in its Washington, Tysons Corner and Suburban Maryland offices.
Lipton has 26 years of commercial real estate experience in the Washington metro markets, having previously worked with Jones Lang LaSalle, CBRE and Grubb & Ellis. Prior to joining Avison Young, he was executive vice-president and managing director of Grubb & Ellis' Capital Region offices, where he was responsible for the company's overall operations in Washington, Tysons Corner, Baltimore and Bethesda, MD. Before moving to Grubb & Ellis, he served as managing director of asset services for CBRE's Washington metropolitan market. In this role, he was responsible for overseeing the firm's property management, construction management and engineering services portfolio covering in excess of 23 msf in Washington, Maryland and Virginia.
Before joining CBRE, Lipton was a senior vice-president and group manager for Jones Lang LaSalle where he oversaw the firm's 3 msf of asset management assignments in the Washington metro area. During his 10 years at Jones Lang LaSalle, he was also involved in the acquisition and disposition of several prominent assets in the Northeast valued at more than $1 billion. Lipton's success has been recognized through a variety of accolades, including a CBRE Chairman's award (2005), a Grubb & Ellis Circle of Excellence award (2008) and back-to-back Avison Young Managing Director of the Year awards (2011, 2012).
"Having been one of the first 10 team members of Avison Young in the U.S., it has been an incredible experience to be part of building a collaborative, best-in-class real estate services firm over the past five-plus years," says Lipton. "I have been fortunate to be part of assembling, and then getting to work with, an all-star roster of real estate professionals across all disciplines and from coast to coast. I am excited about undertaking the new challenges of COO as we strengthen our U.S. platform through acquisitions and recruiting."
Over the past six years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 67 offices and from 300 to more than 1,900 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S., and in Europe.
Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 1,900 real estate professionals in 67 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.
Editors/Reporters
• Please click on links to view and download photos of Keith Lipton and Mark Fieder:
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Keith_Lipton.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/Mark_Fieder1.jpg
For further information/comment/photos:
• Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028
• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610
• Mark Fieder, Principal and COO, Canadian Operations, Avison Young: 416.673.4051
• Keith Lipton, Principal and COO, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 202.644.8683
Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012 and 2013 and has demonstrated its commitment to the program and successfully reapplied for the designation as a Gold Standard winner in 2014.
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SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)
Media Relations: Sherry Quan, 604.647.5098 or 604.726.0959, [email protected]
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