Chicago/Midwest People & Company News, week of June 5, 2026

KeyBank Community Development Lending and Investment (CDLI), a national leader in affordable housing finance, announced a key hire and new leadership appointment to further strengthen and scale its equity syndications platform. Naomi See has joined CDLI as a senior banker on the business development and investor relations team, enhancing the platform’s ability to deepen institutional investor relationships and accelerate capital formation. Celia Smoot has been promoted to Head of Equity Originations, where she will lead investment strategies and execution, supporting continued growth of the firm’s affordable housing equity pipeline.

Cushman & Wakefield welcomed the addition of Brian Helmken, Erik Heltne and Addison Carlson to its Minneapolis office leasing team. The strategic hires strengthen the firm’s ability to serve occupiers and landlords across the Twin Cities and greater Minnesota, enhancing its office leasing capabilities with deep local expertise and market insight.

Farbman Group announced the addition of four new team members across its family of organizations. Andrew Fernandez joins the firm as general manager of the Fifth Third Center in Cleveland, Ohio, and Kawehi Kamakea joins as regional manager overseeing Alabama properties. Additionally, Terrell Chestnut and Carl Richardson Jr. join Apex Mechanical Solutions, Farbman Group’s resident heating and cooling organization, as HVAC technicians.

Erik Johnson has joined JLL as a senior director with the firm’s Minneapolis capital markets team. In this role, he will focus on debt and equity advisory assignments across all commercial property types, working alongside clients to structure and place financing solutions that align with their investment strategies and capital needs.

MONTICELLOAM announced the appointment of Sara Hollander to its fundraising and portfolio management team. In this role, Hollander will drive capital raising activity, commercial strategy, and product expansion across the platform. She will work closely with Portfolio Manager Patti Unti and the firm’s senior leadership to further broaden and diversify the firm’s investor base and distribution channels. 

Core Industrial Realty announced that it has recently hired Alexander (AJ) Smith as a broker. Smith will begin his career in industrial brokerage, focusing on the DuPage County and I-88 submarkets. He will work under the mentorship of Nick Krejci, co-founder of Core Industrial Realty.

Greenstone Partners announced the strategic acquisition of D4 Realty, a Chicago-area brokerage specializing in office and industrial transactions. As part of the acquisition, Dave Schraufnagel, founder and principal of D4 Realty, will join Greenstone Partners as senior director of investment sales and leasing.

Colliers announced that Jeremy Bates has joined Colliers | Cleveland-Akron as vice president. Bates brings more than 21 years of experience, advising retail clients on expansion strategies and lease negotiations. Prior to joining Colliers, Jeremy held roles at Coldwell Banker Commercial | Schmidt Family of Companies and CBRE, where he served as vice president of advisory and transaction services.