Newmark Grubb Knight Frank has nabbed another power broker.
Brad Feld is leaving Madison Partners to join the brokerage that has lured more than 20 prominent agents to its L.A. offices this year. As vice chairman for Southern California, Feld will aim to build Newmark’s landlord and tenant representation practice.
Feld worked at Cushman & Wakefield for more than 15 years before moving to Madison in 2006, a time when clients sought boutique firms for hyper local services.
Today, however, landlords and tenants are looking for the sophisticated research and geographic scale provided by larger companies, according to Feld.
“I felt strongly that I needed a national and international platform,” he said.
Known for his work with entertainment companies, Feld this year brokered leases on behalf of Media Studios North, a Burbank office park owned by Shorenstein Properties and the Worthe Real Estate Group Inc. New tenants include Walt Disney Co., DreamWorks Animation and Hasbro Inc.
Also making the move to Newmark is Steven Salas, who joins Feld in departing Madison and will become an executive managing director.
Newmark’s regional managing director, Greg May, said more hiring was in the works, but could take time. The New York-based company’s ultimate goal is to become the top brokerage among its competitors based on average broker production.
“It’s not about filling a desk. It’s about bringing on great talent and successful people,” May said.
The hiring wave began in January when capital markets broker Kevin Shannon left CBRE with a team of 14 people. Another capital markets broker, David Milestone from Eastdil Secured, joined him in April. Brokers Will Adams and Norman Lee from CBRE signed on in March. Other hires came on board within the past few weeks, including John McMillan and Jeff Sanita from Cushman & Wakefield and Craig Kish from Cresa.
Newmark began its hiring spree after it was acquired by BGC Partners Inc. in 2012, but Shannon’s hiring in January marked a major turning point in helping recruit others.
“He saw the opportunity to grow his platform to different markets that he wasn’t working in,” May said. “If you hire game-changers, everybody wants to play.”
The latest moves were first reported by the Real Deal.
Real estate reporter Daina Beth Solomon can be reached at [email protected]. Follow @dainabethcita on Twitter for the latest in L.A. real estate news.
