CHICAGO-Jones Lang LaSalle's announcement that Peter Roberts is taking on the role of Chief Strategy Officer while Lauralee Martin steps into his former role as CEO, Americas is an activity geared toward taking advantage of what's going on in the greater commercial real estate market. As such, Martin and Roberts tell GlobeSt.com that the executive shifts are happening (effective Jan. 1) so Jones Lang LaSalle can take advantage of opportunities on behalf of clients; opportunities not just in the United States, but worldwide as well.

JLL's Americas region encompasses Canada through South America. According to Martin, who will move from the position of COO and CFO to her new job, the Americas region is JLL's largest in terms of revenue and profits. "We've been in Mexico for a long time and service lots of our multifamily clients in South America," she comments. "We have a robust market in places like Brazil; we see them as locations for opportunity." Though Canada is a smaller market, "we've been adding to our footprint there," Martin explains, adding that the country is important to the JLL clients.

And, according to Roberts, who is moving from the position of CEO, Americas to the newly created Chief Strategy Officer job, Canada is continuing a trend started years ago, namely the institutional control and ownership of class A product. But what is changing, he notes, is that Canadian institutional investors are looking outside of Canada in "ever-increasing numbers and velocity."