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John Forrester, a 35-year veteran of Cushman & Wakefield, will be succeeded as CEO by Michelle MacKay

Michelle MacKay to Succeed John Forrester as Cushman & Wakefield CEO

Thirty-five-year Cushman & Wakefield veteran John Forrester will retire as CEO and member of the board of directors effective June 30, the company said Thursday afternoon. Michelle MacKay, currently president and COO, will assume the CEO role on July 1. Brett White will remain as executive chairman of the Chicago-based company’s board. 

Andrew McDonald, currently president of Cushman & Wakefield, will take on an expanded role of global president and COO overseeing all the firm’s service lines and regions.  

White said, “In their new roles, the combination of Michelle and Andrew – who also has played a pivotal role in the firm’s profitability, growth and development of new strategic opportunities – creates a formidable leadership team that is uniquely qualified to steer evolution within the commercial real estate services industry.” 

With more than 30 years’ experience in commercial real estate, MacKay joined Cushman & Wakefield in 2018 as a board member. 

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Cushman & Wakefield's MacKay

About Paul Bubny

Paul Bubny serves as Senior Content Director for Connect Commercial Real Estate, a role to which he brings 13-plus years’ experience covering the commercial real estate industry and 30-plus years in business-to-business journalism. In this capacity, he oversees daily operations while also reporting on both local/regional markets and national trends, covering individual transactions across all property types, as well as delving into broader subject matter. He produces 15-20 daily news stories per day and works with the Connect team and clients to develop longer-form content, ranging from Q&As to thought-leadership pieces. Prior to joining Connect, Paul was Managing Editor for both Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com at American Lawyer Media, where he oversaw operations at both publications while also producing daily news and feature-length articles. His tenure in B2B publishing stretches back into the print era, and he has served as Editor in Chief on four national trade publications. Since 1999, Paul has volunteered as the newsletter editor of passenger rail advocacy groups (one national, one local).

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