LOS ANGELES-CBRE Group Inc. has named two senior executives to new posts. Nick Axford will become global head of research and James Scott joins the firm as senior managing director.

Scott, an investment banker with two decades of experience providing counsel to clients including CBRE, will join the company on Sept. 9. Scott will play a key role in the full range of CBRE's capital markets capabilities, including investment banking, investment sales and debt and equity finance services.

“James will augment our advisory platform and the full range of services we provide to our clients,” said Christopher Ludeman, president, CBRE Capital Markets, in a prepared statement. “He will be an integrator and bridge between our capital markets services, including CBRE Capital Advisors, and expand the spectrum of the dialogue we have with our clients. James will be a major contributor in devising strategies to enhance our execution of portfolio sales and/or recapitalizations, entity-level engagements, and iconic assignments for large single-asset trades."

Scott joins CBRE from Bank of America Merrill Lynch's real estate investment banking group. He has been involved in more than $120 billion of M&A transaction activity and has served as bookrunner on more than $20-billion of equity, equity-linked, bond and bank issuance.

His notable assignments include serving as lead bookrunner on Macquarie Mexican REIT's $1-billion IPO; serving as the sole advisor to Charter Hall on the $1.7-billion sale of its US office portfolio; serving as the sole advisor on CBRE's $1.1-billion acquisition of ING Real Estate Investment Management; and serving as lead bookrunner on Starwood Property's $932-million IPO.

Scott was a member of the real estate investment banking group at UBS and the M&A group at JPMorgan, and has also practiced corporate law. He earned a bachelor's degree from Dartmouth College and a J.D. from Columbia Law School.

Axford, a PhD, has been installed in the new position of global head of research. Axford is currently head of research for CBRE's Asia Pacific business, and will assume his new global responsibilities immediately. He is based in Hong Kong.

Axford will have overall responsibility for managing the operations of CBRE Global Research, establishing a strategic plan that supports the company's priorities and growth agenda, and serving as a resource for clients on global trends affecting commercial real estate.

Raymond Torto, PhD, will become global chairman of CBRE Research and dedicate most of his time and attention to analytical and client service activities, including publishing insightful analysis of market trends and speaking before client and industry groups.

“We want to advance CBRE's position as the leading authority on commercial real estate globally,” said Chris Kirk, CBRE's chief administrative officer, in a prepared statement. ”The creation of this new position and Nick's appointment are key steps toward that goal. He and Ray are longtime colleagues who, working together, will help to further advance CBRE's reputation for critical thinking and insight on commercial real estate trends worldwide. Nick has done an excellent job in leading our research efforts in Asia Pacific since 2010. He has built a strong team across the region, and he will remain highly engaged in ensuring that they continue to produce first-class research and analysis for our clients."

A 23-year veteran of the real estate industry, Axford led CBRE's research teams in Europe, the Middle East and Africa from 1998 to 2010. As a longstanding member of CBRE's Global Research & Consulting Executive Committee, he has also been a contributor to the development and implementation of global standards and best practices across CBRE's research platform.

Axford is a graduate of Southampton University in the U.K., where he earned his Bachelor and Doctorate degrees.

As previously reported by GlobeSt.com. CBRE recently brokered a deal to put Mercedes-Benz USA into over a million square feet of Long Beach industrial property. It is allegedly the largest industrial infill lease to be signed in L.A. County in more than 25 years.