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The firm has unveiled some big appointments to propel business in the months ahead.
In the Sunshine State, Bruce Baker will take on a new role as executive managing director of Queensland and capital markets; Chris Butters assumes the role as senior managing director of Queensland, in addition to his responsibilities as Brisbane managing director; and Coen Riddle steps into the position of Queensland state director of CBRE’s office leasing, investor business.
CBRE’s Pacific advisory CEO, Phil Rowland, said the promotions were a testament to the depth of talent within CBRE’s Queensland business, and spoke of Mr Baker’s new responsibilities in the top job.
“Bruce has played an instrumental role in our business over his 15 years at CBRE, steering one of our highest performing geographies. His new role will give him the capacity to extend his business impact and further leverage his market influence, with a focus on strategic recruitment, senior customer relationship management and talent mentoring,” Mr Rowland said of the new state executive managing director.
He explained that the move made way for Mr Butters to step up into the role vacated by Mr Baker, noting that he was the “standout successor for Bruce given his demonstrated leadership skills”.
Mr Coen, he said, will draw on his considerable client relationships and sector expertise to fill the role vacated by Mr Butters.
And in Western Australia, a promotion will see James Phelan succeed Andrew Denny as the leader of CBRE’s office leasing efforts.
Mr Denny has spent more than 30 years at CBRE, but stepped away from the leadership role to focus on transactions, client relationships and mentoring.
Mr Phelan, who has 16 years of agency experience under his belt, has been with CBRE’s Western Australia office leasing team for the past six years and was described as the “ready-made successor” by CBRE’s Western Australia senior managing director, Lincoln Delahunt.
“James’ appointment highlights our commitment to developing our next generation of leaders. Succession planning is a business-critical activity and it’s even more challenging when it involves someone of Andrew's calibre, given his long stewardship and remarkable track record,” Mr Delahunt said.
He added that Mr Phelan’s “leadership qualities, strong reputation and deep understanding of the Perth leasing market” made him suited to the role.
In stepping into the job, Mr Phelan spoke to the wealth of knowledge among the team he will now lead.
“I’m excited to manage CBRE’s office leasing business in Western Australia. The team has over 85 years of combined experience and has never been in a stronger position. I look forward to building on this success working alongside Andrew and the rest of the team,” Mr Phelan said.
ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Juliet Helmke
Based in Sydney, Juliet Helmke has a broad range of reporting and editorial experience across the areas of business, technology, entertainment and the arts. She was formerly Senior Editor at The New York Observer.
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