AKARA, TURKEY-Cushman & Wakefield has bolstered its presence here with the hire of two senior executives. The appointments are said to be part of a major recruitment drive for C&W here and are expected to be followed by a more appointments to the Turkish team.

They also follow the news that Rahsan Cebe, the current head of Cushman & Wakefield in Turkey will be stepping down from her role and relocating to Canada in early 2013.

The two professionals, both coming from Jones Lang LasSalle, “will significantly strengthen its position and enhance service provision for domestic and international investors and occupiers across all sectors,” according to a statement.

Togrul Gönden has joined as managing partner. Gönden, a Turkish national, was previously director and head of retail property and asset management for JLL in Russia.

Tugra Gönden joined as partner and head of office and industrial in Turkey. He was previously a director for commercial markets at JLL in Turkey where he developed the office and industrial agency and tenant representation businesses. He has been based in Istanbul for the past six years. Prior to that, he had a nine-year career in project and property management in Germany. The two men are brothers.

“There's a lot of demand for office, industrial and retail services from international and domestic clients who view Turkey as an increasingly important market,” says Carlo Barel di Sant'Albano, CEO of Cushman & Wakefield in EMEA, “and we are now strongly positioned to capitalize on this demand and to create a market-leading operation.”