Dyer, a British citizen based in Washington, DC, is currently CEO of WorldWide Retail Exchange, an Internet-based exchange owned by 40 of the world's largest retailers and manufacturers, a position he has held since 2000. Before that, he was CEO of Courtaulds Textiles, a clothing and textile company operating in 17 countries. He will relocate his primary office to Chicago in the fall.

Dyer tells GlobeSt.com that his first order of business after taking the helm will be to visit as many parts of the operation as possible, meeting staff, clients and investors. It will mean a lot of travel: currently the company operates in about 100 markets. "A very strong foundation has been laid, particularly in the last four years, as the LaSalle business, and the Jones Lang business in Europe, have come together to form a global platform," he says.

Like any new CEO worth his salt, Dyer plans a growth trajectory for Jones Lang LaSalle. "We have some growing back to do, in our operations in Europe and Asia-Pacific, to bring [them] back to their traditional levels of return," he says. "We're not talking necessarily about growth in numbers of countries, or geographical reach. That we have already. It's growing the business we already have in place, investment management and corporate services.