Michael Morris and Sumner Putnam
By Joshua Burd
Cresa is launching a capital markets and advisory platform for data centers after adding the well-known brokerage team of Michael Morris, Sumner Putnam and Matt Deutsch.
The firm said Morris, who has completed more than 1,000 data center transactions in more than 50 markets globally, will lead the service line from its New York City office, with support from across the country. The platform will provide advisory, planning, transaction structuring, tenant and landlord representation, as well as capital markets solutions for major data center projects.
“The data center infrastructure expansion underway is one of the most important technological challenges of our time,” Cresa CEO Tod Lickerman said. “Michael and his team are true data center leaders and provide significant, unique advantages to our clients with strong insight, advocacy and the ability to get deals done.”
Morris joins Cresa as a president, having founded Newmark’s data center practice nearly 20 years ago, according to a news release. The former vice chairman has led a wide range of mission-critical projects for clients across the U.S., including Digital Realty Trust, Verizon, CyrusOne, Memorial Sloan Kettering, CoreSite, New York University, Landmark Dividend and Chevron, having also worked with every major hyper-scaler.
He holds multiple data center design designations, including being named a Certified Power Quality Professional and a Data Center Dynamics Cooling Professional, the news release said. He holds an MBA in finance from Baruch College’s Zicklin School of Business.
“I am thrilled to be joining Cresa to build a world-leading practice,” Morris said. “I was drawn to a shared vision with leadership for the firm and joining the Cresa board as an advisor to help shape Cresa’s future.”
Putnam, now a managing principal with the firm, was a key member of Newmark’s data center practice group and is a recognized leader in the niche sector, Cresa said. Previously at JLL, his expertise spans lease negotiations, site selection and colocation agreements, while his notable clients include CyrusOne, New York Life, HSBC, Bank of America, Tumi, NYU, Fidessa, Mapletree and Kingstreet.
The team also includes Cresa Senior Analyst Mackensey Gawne and data center experts from around the world through Knight Frank, a global partner of the firm, with whom Morris has partnered for nearly a quarter-century, the news release said. Together they service all types of clients, including but not limited to landlords, tenants, sellers and buyers.
The group, meantime, will continue to support office clients with their real estate requirements.
