NEW YORK CITY-Ernst & Young LLP is expanding its Construction and Real Estate Advisory Services (CREAS) practice in Midtown, appointing E&Y veterans Maureen Welch and Josh Herrenkohl to key leadership roles here. Welch will lead the group’s national corporate real estate practice, and Herrenkohl assumes responsibility for the group’s real estate investor services team.

In her new role, Welch--who has 28 years of strategy and operations experience--will focus on a wide range of services for global organizations across multiple industry sectors. Her responsibilities now include portfolio strategy, location advisory, occupancy cost reduction, sourcing and vendor selection, governance and control, process improvement and technology strategy.

As a thought leader and former consultant, Welch, who rejoined E&Y in 2009, tells GlobeSt.com that her goals include continuing to bring “innovative yet cost effective” solutions to clients by coupling strategic vision, industry experience and operations capabilities. “With corporate construction and transactions down, we see renewed interest in life cycle management and a deeper respect for facilities management, particularly in technical environments such as pharma, healthcare and manufacturing,” she says, in an e-mail.