MIAMI—Florida is a hot spot for both foreign and domestic companies looking to expand, which is keeping the region's commercial real estate firms busy. Blanca Commercial Real estate just added a senior broker to the mix.

Chris Harak comes on board as a senior vice president. Harak brings over a decade of market expertise to Blanca. He's been involved in some of Florida's largest office and industrial users, including World Fuel Services, Gibraltar Private Bank, H. Lee Moffit Cancer Research Institute, and International Bonded Couriers.

“We're seeing more companies working to gain a foothold in Florida and expand their operations here,” Tere Blanca, president and CEO of Blanca, tells GlobeSt.com. “Blanca Commercial Real Estate is growing our staff to further accommodate our existing clients and the growing activity we expect over the coming years. Chris' experience advising companies that lease or own office and industrial space, coupled with his wealth of relationships across the state, will make him a valuable asset to our existing clients and will support the consistent growth of our firm's tenant advisory business.”

Harak previously served as assistant director for Savills Studley. There he was responsible for business development, strategic planning, and transaction management across Florida. He was also a key member of a team that consistently ranked among Florida's top tenant advisory practices specializing in office leasing. Harak joins the firm's tenant representation practice alongside senior vice president Luciana Carvalho, who is multilingual and holds the prestigious “MCR” degree (Masters in Corporate Real Estate) from CoreNet Global.

Beyond Blanca, CBRE is also focusing on office leasing.Earlier this month, Carol Ellis-Cutler joined CBRE's Miami office agency brokerage group as a first vice president. She comes to CBRE from Colliers International, where she served as a senior vice president and partner, and will specialize in representing institutional quality owners of office real estate.