Photo of Shawn Mobley Shawn Mobley has served as president of the East region at Cushman & Wakefield.

CHICAGO—Cushman & Wakefield has promoted Shawn P. Mobley to CEO Americas, with John Forrester becoming the firm’s global president and Michelle Hay promoted to global head of human resources. The moves come as Americas CEO Tod Lickerman steps down to pursue other interests.

“My mandate is clear: continue to organize around our clients, putting the best teams in place to consistently deliver outstanding results,” Mobley says. “This is a tremendous opportunity and I couldn’t be more excited to continue building our momentum across the Americas,” the firm’s largest region.

Chicago-based Mobley moves up from leading Cushman & Wakefield’s East region, its biggest and fastest-growing segment which has seen six acquisitions over the past two years. He joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2011, taking on positions of increasing responsibility from Chicago market leader to forming and leading the investor services Group and, most recently, becoming president of the East region.

Photo of John Forrester John Forrester

Forrester will have day-to-day operational and management oversight of the firm’s four global regions: the Americas, EMEA, APAC and Greater China. He’ll work closely with chairman and CEO Brett White.

Prior to Cushman & Wakefield’s 2015 merger with DTZ, which Forrester joined in 1988, he served as DTZ’s chief executive EMEA. He also acted as group chief executive of DTZ Holdings PLC and led the formal sale process of DTZ PLC to UGL in 2011.

“We are a very different organization to the one we were at merger and as we’ve grown we’ve remained entrepreneurial and action-orientated,” says Forrester, based in London. “That’s important as the industry is changing fast. We must lead that charge while maintaining our constant focus on providing the best advice to our clients in every major market and service line around the world.”

Photo of Michelle Hay Michelle Hay

Now global head of human resources, Hay will also continue to lead HR operations in the Americas, and will also be a key member of the global executive management team. She joined Cushman & Wakefield as chief human resources officer in 2016. “Our business is built on the strength of our people – so recruiting, developing, and retaining the right talent, that reflects a diverse and inclusive business community, is crucial to our ongoing success,” Hay says.

“Each of these professionals is a leader, not only at Cushman & Wakefield, but also within our industry. I’m fully confident in their abilities to deliver the very best results for our clients, while putting our people at the center of fulfilling careers,” says White. “Their commitment, drive, and dedication to our people and to our clients is essential to our continued success.”