"We've operated in Brazil for six years," John B. Coppedge III, EVP of international operations for C&W tells GlobeSt.com. "We felt now was the time to expand, even though Brazil is going through a recession and has elected a new president that takes charge the first of the year, which raises more questions about the economy."
Coppedge explains that this uncertainty is creating an incremental need for real estate services. "Our clients are looking at consolidation and retraction across South America and need help coming up with a real estate strategy. We're helping them create and implement that strategy."
He adds that C&W currently manages $15 million sf of space in South America for banks and financial institutions. "We want to continue to expand, particularly in the facility management arena."
To facilitate this expansion and to make it easier for clients to contact Cushman through a single point of contact, the firm has restructured its Semco division, appointing Antunes to oversee all operations on the continent, including property management, office and industrial brokerage, financial services, corporate services, valuation advisory services and research. Previously, the firm's regional offices in South America worked independently of each other.
Antunes' appointment marks the first time a woman has climbed to the ranks of C-Suite executives within C&W. Prior to being named CEO, she was asset management director for South America and was previously the director of the firm's Brazilian property and project management operations. She's been with the firm for seven years.
In addition to her appointment, C&W Semco has promoted several other executives. Paul Weeks was appointed managing director for Brazil; Domingo Sperenza was promoted to managing director of business development for South America; and Jose Alignani was named corporate advisor.
Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.
Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:
- Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
- Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
- Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
Already have an account? Sign In Now
*May exclude premium content© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.
