WASHINGTON, DC—Industry veteran Joe Stettinius, who was instrumental in both the Cassidy Turley/DTZ merger and DTZ's subsequent merger with Cushman & Wakefield, died suddenly at his home Thursday evening. A mainstay of commercial real estate for more than three decades, Stettinius most recently was named executive vice chairman of strategic investments for the Americas at Cushman & Wakefield.

In a statement from Cushman & Wakefield, Stettinius is remembered as “a dear friend, trusted colleague, and a kind and visionary leader.” He was “committed to his friends and colleagues, helping them transform into the best version of themselves. He will be remembered for his dedication to diversity—building a culture where all could succeed.”

The son of a developer and grandson of a secretary of state to two US presidents, Stettinius got his start in commercial real estate as a leasing broker in the Washington, DC area, and arranged more than 4.5 million square feet of deals for some of the region's top landlords. He held executive roles with Trammell Crow and Equity Office Properties before becoming CEO of Cassidy & Pinkard Colliers, one of eight firms that joined forces to form Cassidy Turley in 2010. He later became Cassidy Turley's president and, in 2012, its CEO.

Following the September 2015 merger of DTZ and Cushman & Wakefield, where he served as chief executive, Americas, Stettinius “helped stabilize the newly merged firm and achieved great success in growing our capital markets business,” says Shawn P. Mobley, Americas CEO, in an internal memo obtained by GlobeSt.com. “In his most recent role as executive vice chairman, strategic investments, Americas, Joe turned his legendary focus to creating a pipeline of attractive acquisition opportunities as well as other strategic investment and client related transactions.”

Stettinius, who was 55, is survived by his wife Regina, and their children Isabel and Alexander. Details regarding funeral arrangements were not yet available as of early Friday afternoon