NORTHBROOK, IL-Making the move from his previous post as president and CEO of GE Corporate Finance Bank in London, Thomas Greco, the new CEO of Hilco Appraisal Services LLC here, says he sees improvement in metrics across the globe. He took over the job from Arnold Dratt, who was named chairman of this appraisal division of Hilco Trading LLC.
Greco says the global economy is showing signs of improvement. “Employment and consumer consumption is still a challenge, however,” he tells GlobeSt.com. “If you look at it through the eyes of our customers, they’re putting a lot of energy in lost mitigation and balance sheet management than in new business. I think we’ll see sluggish growth throughout most of 2011.”
He is now in charge of the operations and initiatives of Hilco’s valuation services, which includes appraisals in every asset category and consulting services. Whereas he says valuation is needed regardless of the economic status, Greco says he has seen a change in how buildings are viewed today. “In a bull market, a lot of valuation work is trade related, assets changing hands. Now we’re seeing all the other reasons for valuation, focusing more on portfolio management, intangible assets, looking at fair market value and court disputes,” he says.
From his time in Europe, he says he has advice for US companies looking to invest across the Atlantic. “Europe really isn’t Europe, it’s the UK, France, Germany, etc., each operating at a different pace. You’ve got Greece, which basically had a buyout from the IMF, but that hasn’t solved the insolvency issue. There’s the low Euro issue, but some countries such as Germany are clearly benefiting from that. What we’ve learned is that Europe is really just a whole bunch of local markets,” Greco says.
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