Former Eastdil Secured Execs to Lead Cushman & Wakefield’s Chicago-Midwest Capital Markets Team

Altenau will lead the firm’s Debt Capital Markets platform for Chicago and the Midwest. Yarnoff will partner with Altenau in growing the company’s business and execution of large, highly complex structured real estate financings as well as middle market financings across all asset types and service lines.

Jeff Altenau, executive managing director, Cushman & Wakefield

CHICAGO—Cushman & Wakefield reports it has hired former Eastdil Secured executives Jeff Altenau as executive managing director and Zach Yarnoff as managing director with its Debt Capital Markets operations.

Altenau will lead the firm’s Debt Capital Markets platform for Chicago and the Midwest. Yarnoff will partner with Altenau in growing the company’s business and execution of large, highly complex structured real estate financings as well as middle market financings across all asset types and service lines, Cushman & Wakefield reports.

Altenau, who has nearly 20 years of experience in the institutional real estate debt capital markets, has an extensive background working across various parts of the capital stack, including first mortgages, B-notes, mezzanine financings and preferred equity, as well as secondary loan sales. Since 2012, he has been responsible for transactions totaling more than $14 billion.

Zach Yarnoff, managing director, Cushman & Wakefield

Yarnoff has more than 10 years of real estate and capital markets expertise. At Eastdil Secured, he was responsible for more than $7 billion of financing transactions on behalf of public and private institutional investors. He was previously a manager in the Real Estate Valuation and Advisory practice at KPMG LLP.

The additions of Altenau and Yarnoff follow the recent hires of David Knapp, executive managing director, office investment sales, and Josh McGee, managing director, corporate capital markets.

“Our organization’s capabilities are reflected in our investment to make strategic hires across key markets, reinforcing our commitment to meet the needs of our clients through industry-leading services, while strengthening the depth of our platform,” says Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, chief executive of Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Capital Markets Investor Services. “Jeff and Zach’s expertise, track record and client relationships will strengthen our debt platform and ability to provide a full suite of services to our investor clients.”

In November 2018, Cushman & Wakefield added a seven-person office investment sales team in Chicago, led by Paul Lundstedt, vice chair. Since the beginning of 2018, the company has brought on board new healthcare, multifamily and office investment sales teams in the Midwest.