NEW YORK CITY—Growing its valuation and advisory practice, Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has hired four senior-level professionals for the group. Helene Jacobson, Steve DuPlantis, Ken Audette and Jason Hutchins have joined the firm.

Jacobson joins NGKF as co-leader of US valuation and advisory. She previously spent nearly two and a half decades at CBRE, where she managed the firm's tri-state area valuation operation. Her role included staffing, quality control, business development, portfolio coordination and marketing. She developed one of the most extensive client rosters in the industry and worked with leading financial institutions, private equity and CMBS firms and insurers across the globe.

Co-leading the US practice, DuPlantis joins with over two decades at CBRE, where he led the valuation practice in the South Central US. DuPlantis transcended the typical constraints of an appraisal manager to become one of the industry's top business development professionals and led CBRE's efforts for most of his career. He also was instrumental in redefining execution strategies and worked closely with the technology staff to engineer platform enhancements.

Audette will serve as senior managing director of finance and operations for NGKF valuation & advisory. Prior to joining NGKF, he worked at Cushman & Wakefield for over 17 years, most recently as CFO of North America.

Hutchins joins NGKF as senior managing director of valuation & advisory technology strategies. He served the past 20 years as the founder and director of CBRE's valuation & advisory technology support team based in Houston, Texas. In this capacity, he was responsible for the development, training and support of the firm's desktop technology platform.

Hutchins also worked closely with CBRE's information technology group to deliver the industry's first truly global valuation assignment management and comparable property database system. Prior to joining CBRE, he had a six-year career as a valuation associate with the Gerald A. Teel Company in Houston, followed by one year with HFF as a production analyst and portfolio servicing underwriter.

The service line expansion comes on the heels of NGKF hiring John D. Busi as valuation and advisory president. “With John's leadership, we are redefining the valuation business,” says Barry M. Gosin, CEO of NGKF. “Through strategic acquisition of first-class firms and recruitment of the industry's top professionals, NGKF is building a multi-dimensional practice that leverages technology and capital markets intelligence harnessed by our growing platform.”

“We have reimagined the format of a traditional valuation practice so we can devote more capital and more resources to the appraisers,” adds Busi. “The structure of the leadership roles at NGKF will focus on expanding our business relationships, client care and strategic initiatives. Our goal is to have more revenue “fall” to the assignment executers and more capital to invest in technology platforms that will enhance productivity. Appraisal fees have been on an unprecedented decade-long decline.

He continues, “At the same time, valuation companies have been weighed down with organization formats that cannot deliver a value proposition to the appraisers who propel the business. Whether you are a geographic manager, a specialty manager, a technology leader or an operational head, you need to be serving the people who produce your appraisals. Our first round of hires are individuals that have supported appraisers through tireless business development, state-of-the-art platform creation, strategic operating structures, and relentless devotion to enhancing and improving the brand.”

Instant Insights /

NGKF Nabs Four Valuation/Advisory Pros

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