Thurman Transitions to New JLL Role

CHICAGO-Locally based Jones Lang LaSalle reveals to GlobeSt.com that Cedric Thurman has joined the firm’s corporate retail solutions practice as senior vice president. Thurman will focus on enhancing the firm’s ability to deliver profit-enhancing strategies to meet the retail industry’s growing demand for strategic outsourced real estate services.

Thurman is based out of the firm’s Chicago office, reporting to Lew Kornberg, managing director of corporate retail solutions. “Retailers today have to contend with an unprecedented mix of complexity, uncertainty, and rapid-fire change that requires a high level of creativity and innovation,” says Kornberg. “Cedric’s reputation as a results-oriented, client-focused thought leader will provide the vision and strategy that our retail clients require as they grow their business and enhance their brand in a cost-effective manner.”

Joining JLL in 2000, Thurman most recently served as the firm’s chief diversity officer, advancing diversity and inclusion within the firm in the U.S. and Canada. He was instrumental in helping Jones Lang LaSalle create and implement a strategy that connects diversity and inclusion to the business strategy of the firm, according to a prepared statement.

Prior to his three years as the chief diversity officer, he held responsibility for transaction management on the HSBC account. Before that, he served on the Bank of America account team, where he earned a JLL Club award in 2003 for his leadership and contributions.

In his new role, Thurman will focus on expanding Jones Lang LaSalle’s corporate retail solutions platform across a wide breadth of retail categories and formats. He will focus on enhancing client service offerings, identifying and disseminating best practices, mentoring the team, and pursuing strategic business development opportunities.

“Despite the challenging environment, there is ample opportunity to leverage market dynamics to gain a more advantageous position, whether that includes new store deployment, a more holistic, strategic approach to real estate, or simply pursing creative lease restructuring,” says Thurman. “It’s an exciting time to be an advisor within the retail space, and I look forward to contributing to accomplishing the business goals of Jones Lang LaSalle’s growing retail client base.”

Changing market conditions have resulted in many retailers outsourcing their real estate needs to ensure speed-to-market and a consistent approach to retail real estate activities, says JLL. The firm’s corporate retail solutions team serves as advisors to a host of national retailers. The team provides an end-to-end suite of services, from strategic and market planning, site acquisition, project and asset management. “They work closely with a wide reaching network of independent best brokers to deliver unparalleled, real-time local level market intelligence and superlative client representation which aligns the interests of all parties to produce mutually beneficial results,” says JLL.