NEW YORK CITY—Savills Studley's capital markets group just got a huge infusion of talent.

The tenant representation firm has gained six industry professionals, who joined the firm after decamping from Cushman & Wakefield. In separate hirings, senior level brokers Louis Wolfowitz and Robert Elms have jumped to Savills, together with Mark Todrys, Sarah Icke, Emilee Brown and Brendan O'Loughlin.

The hires come closely on the heels of Savills Studley's expansion of its capital markets group, which recently added Michael Rotchford, Paul Leibowitz, David Krantz and David Heller to join well-known industry veteran Woody Heller (no relation).

“As we continue to grow the company globally, adding the right capital markets talent in New York is fundamental to strengthening our brand,” says Simon Hope, head of Savills global capital markets. “Louis, Robert and Mark are among the best in the business and we are thrilled to have them on our team.”

Wolfowitz, who joins as a senior managing director after a dozen years at Cushman, most recently led his former firm's corporate finance & investment banking group. He will focus on structuring and executing transactions on behalf of institutional real estate clients, as well as occupiers.

“I am delighted to be joining an elite global firm that is fully focused on building a robust capital markets platform in New York and throughout the United States,” states Wolfowitz. “I look forward to starting a new chapter working alongside my best-in-class partners.”

Elms comes over to Savills as a senior managing director, and Todrys, a director, will lead the capital markets group's placement efforts. Asserts Elms, “Savills Studley's access to global capital and its entrepreneurial culture offer a unique opportunity to best serve our clients.”

Wolfowitz—who worked with Michael Rotchford at Cushman & Wakefield and succeeded him as head of the firm's corporate finance & investment banking group—helped to build a specialized practice providing real estate advisory and transaction execution services to corporate and institutional occupiers of real estate.

He completed over $10 billion of transactions, encompassing over 40 million square feet of commercial real estate. He was a member of the team that earned two REBNY awards: the 2011 Most Ingenious Deal of the Year, for acting as advisor to the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey on the World Trade Center development, and the 2009 Most Ingenious Real Estate Financing award, for the New York Times Co.'s headquarters at 620 Eighth Ave.

Prior to C&W, Wolfowitz was an SVP of GE Capital, where he established that company's first direct investment program in REITs, investing over $1 billion. Wolfowitz began his career as an investment banker with Merrill Lynch & Co. and helped establish the modern REIT industry with the initial public offering of Kimco Realty Corp.

Before joining Savills Studley, Elms served as a senior managing director in Capital Markets at Cushman & Wakefield, where he led the placement desk for the corporate finance and investing banking practice and was responsible for arranging debt and equity real estate related financings for corporate clients and developers.

Earlier in Elms' career, he spent 10 years on Wall Street in investment banking with both JPMorgan and Chase Securities and played a key role in several high profile M&A and subsequent financings transactions.

Todrys served as a director in Cushman & Wakefield's investment banking group for 10 years, where he worked closely with the capital markets group to assist corporations, institutions and other owners and users in maximizing real estate value through the use of structured financial products involving tax, capital and accounting strategies.

Icke joins as associate and Brown and O'Loughlin both join as analysts.

“Louis, Robert and Mark have proven track records in the capital markets industry,” says Rotchford, co-head of the capital markets group. “I am excited to be reunited with them.”

Adds Woody Heller, co-head of the capital markets group, “The addition of these three talented individuals further demonstrates our expanding commitment to providing world-class capital markets services to our clients.”

NEW YORK CITY—Savills Studley's capital markets group just got a huge infusion of talent.

Icke joins as associate and Brown and O'Loughlin both join as analysts.

“Louis, Robert and Mark have proven track records in the capital markets industry,” says Rotchford, co-head of the capital markets group. “I am excited to be reunited with them.”

Instant Insights /

Half Dozen Cushman Pros Jump to Savills Studley

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