By Joshua Burd
Tenant advisory firm Savills has added a new service line focused on helping clients deal with surplus real estate, hiring a longtime industry executive to oversee the practice.
Gerard J. Staudt joins Savills as a senior managing director and head of dispositions, North America. He will be based in its Rutherford office and will lead an effort focused on creating cash flow for clients’ surplus real estate, primarily through leasing, sales and sale-leasebacks.
“Savills focus on key talent acquisitions will largely increase our global capabilities,” said Adam Petrillo, senior managing director and head of industrial services for Savills. “Gerard’s 30 years of experience dedicated to global clients’ surplus real estate aligns well with Savills pedigree and our vision of offering the most well-rounded real estate consultation and services to our clients.”
Staudt has led 4,000 transactions, totaling 50 million square feet and exceeding $8 billion in transaction value, according to a news release. He most recently served as president of CoreDispo, or Corporate Real Estate Dispositions Inc., where his team was fully focused on surplus real estate disposition transactions.
Before CoreDispo, Staudt founded and led global dispositions at Johnson Controls’ GWS/CBRE, served as vice president of asset management at Citibank Real Estate, assistant vice president at Nippon Life Insurance Properties and director of leasing at First Winthrop Properties, where he repositioned, leased and sold real estate.
He began his career as a leasing broker at Cross & Brown in Manhattan.
“Savills continues to grow by making investments in niche areas that have broad client appeal, which will open doors to better serve more global accounts,” Staudt said. “With the new dispositions offering, a Savills team solely focused on surplus real estate will help clients solve issues and achieve targeted cash flow efficiently.”
Staudt holds a bachelor’s in economics from Saint Michael’s College and is an active member of CoreNet Global.
