Newman, who joined Lowe in 1986 and was elected a shareholder of the company in October of 1998, will oversee national commercial and multifamily activities for Lowe's real estate group. This includes responsibility for Lowe's commercial and multifamily investment, development and asset management activities throughout the US, including oversight of the company's current portfolio of more than five million square feet of office, industrial and retail space under management and $800 million of commercial development planned or under way. Robert J. Lowe, founder and CEO of Lowe Enterprises, notes that the company is actively investing in commercial and multifamily properties that offer repositioning potential, with a particular emphasis on urban locations as illustrated. He cites the firm's recent acquisition of the 100-unit Lido Apartments in Hollywood. In addition, the firm has historically specialized in managing distressed properties on behalf of institutional owners, which has again become a core business for the company.

The appointment of Ross at Caruso Capital Partners follows the recent announcement that Caruso Capital will invest up to $750 million of debt and equity in opportunistic investments in retail centers and mixed-use properties in select markets in the Western US in a joint venture with TPG Capital called Caruso-TPG Partners. Caruso Capital is an affiliate of Caruso Affiliated.

According to Stephen Rader, president of Caruso Capital, Ross will play an integral role in the joint venture's acquisition initiative and evaluate new opportunities for the venture. Ross most recently served as the director of acquisitions and development at the Los Angeles-based Festival Cos. and its affiliated investment fund with Goldman Sachs, the Festival Retail Fund. Before joining the Festival Cos. in 2005, he was the Director of Commercial Development & Operations at the Westfield Group, where he also served as the national operations manager and a project architect in the design and construction group beginning in 2002.

At Jones Lang LaSalle, the hirings of Gralnik and Alldredge are part of the company's ongoing efforts to bolster its Energy and Sustainability Services Group. Peter Belisle, Jones Lang LaSalle president of Energy and Sustainability Services in the Americas region, notes that JLL is expanding its energy and sustainability capabilities "to stay on top of rapid growth in client demand for innovative and cost-effective solutions."

Gralnik, a 23-year energy solutions veteran, is based in Jones Lang LaSalle's San Diego office and is responsible for the firm's solar and renewable energy initiatives. He is also responsible for maximizing the solar optimization of client's rooftops by leasing roof space and providing installation and ongoing management services for those sites. Alldredge, a 21-year energy solutions veteran who is based in JLL's downtown Los Angeles office, will advise corporate and investor clients in identifying and developing sustainable energy management solutions and green business strategies that reduce energy consumption.

Gralnik most recently was vice president of strategic accounts at Solar Integrated Technologies. Previously, he served as an srea sales manager for Honeywell SES and also held posts at RealEnergy, TXU Energy, Sempra Energy Solutions and PG&E Energy Services.

Alldredge was previously the owner/principal of Improvement Facilitation LLC, a LEED and energy efficiency consulting company and Energy Star Partner. He has also served as field sales developer on the ecoSolutions team at General Electric and portfolio engineering manager at Equity Office Properties.