ROCHELLE PARK, N.J., Jan. 15, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) — ZRG, a leading global talent advisory firm, today announced a major expansion of the firm’s rapidly growing worldwide Real Estate and Facilities Practice.
With the addition of Jamie Griffiths-Mead and Robert Johnston in its London office and Alan Walker in San Francisco, ZRG has bolstered its global reach and presence in the real estate sector. The practice has been built under the direction of longstanding practice leader, Kevin Jones, joined by Matt Slepin with the acquisition of Terra Search Partners in 2022. In 2023, the addition of Helbling & Associates, a boutique search firm focused on the facilities professionals and corporate real estate, further expanded ZRG’s reach and capacity in the sector.
ZRG’s comprehensive Real Estate Practice has made significant advancements over the past several years. It is now capable of serving clients in both real estate-specific leadership roles and broader real estate leadership roles for organizations as a functional attribute. ZRG’s expertise in this sector includes C-suite; private equity, capital market, and investment management; healthcare and higher education real estate and facilities development, design and construction, and more. Extending its reach and influence in the real estate market, the team produces the top ranked Leading Voices in Real Estate podcast featuring conversations with some of the industry’s leading legends and visionaries.
“In real estate, companies succeed over the competition based on the strength of their team, their business platform, and the culture that drives their business,” said Larry Hartmann, CEO of ZRG. “The sector is not defined by businesses at any one point on the scale from local to multinational. Today, the real estate business has increasingly become institutional and global in nature, and evolving business technologies are supporting the evolving needs of the business across the globe.”
“With Jamie and Rob in London, and Alan in San Francisco, we’re adding to an already deeply experienced team,” Slepin noted. “Tom Helbling and his team brought in over 30 years of experience in facilities and construction. Sarah Dunn, also in San Francisco, is now a Managing Director leading our real estate industry recruiting in the western states and affordable housing nationally. ZRG’s real estate and facilities vertical can now truly serve our clients and their businesses across the globe.”
“The practice has grown at an amazing pace in the last several years,” said Jones. “Between our broad experience across the real estate sector, Matt’s work in commercial real estate and REITs, our new teammates, and our other MDs like Larry Krema, who formerly ran HR for Simon Property Group and Equity Office Properties, there isn’t an area of the diverse real estate industry we don’t serve.”
Jamie Griffiths-Mead, Managing Director
Jamie Griffiths-Mead joins ZRG from his previous position as partner in the real estate practice of executive search firm Granger Reis, where he led the Real Estate Funds & Advisors business across EMEA & North America. Prior to that, he was a consultant in the Real Estate practice at Carmichael Fisher Executive Search, operating across Europe, Australia, the Middle East, and Asia Pacific. His areas of focus are board/executive committee search, independent investment committee/non-executive search, capital markets leadership, M&A, debt advisory, equity placement, loan servicing, fund management, occupier services & ESG, and environmental consultancy leadership.
Alan Walker, Principal
Alan Walker has produced $10 billion in principal real estate and alternative asset investments and transactions with leading global firms and regional start-ups across his 25-year career. He started his career on Goldman Sachs’ international trading desk in New York before going on to be an early partner and head of acquisitions at Swift Real Estate Partners in San Francisco. Later, he led the restructuring of regional teams and turnaround of a multi-billion-dollar portfolio for Blackstone’s EQ Office.
Rob Johnston, Principal
Rob Johnston draws upon 20 years of experience in real estate and executive search. His expertise encompasses business origination and delivering best-in-class results for clients, underpinned by a strong focus on execution, delivery, and relationship-building. He brings in-depth knowledge of the sector and a well-established network across the UK, Ireland, and the European continent. He earned his BSc Hons, Property Valuation & Management from Limerick Institute of Technology and his MSc, Project Management from the University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Graduate School of Business, Ireland’s leading business school.
About ZRG
ZRG is a global talent advisory firm that is changing the way companies hire and manage talent. ZRG’s data-driven approach to executive and professional search has been changing the way clients think about how to find top talent. The company’s digital Zi platform combines talent intelligence, candidate insights, and process improvement to dramatically deliver executive searches quicker and with proven better results.
Today, with the help of private equity investor RFE Investment Partners, ZRG is among the fastest growing firms in the search industry and provides a full suite of retained search, on-demand talent, and consulting and advisory solutions across the Americas, Asia, Europe, and Australia.
Media Contact: John Mooney, Over the Moon PR, 908-720-6057, [email protected]
