Bob Westover Joins Cresa Consulting Group as Vice President
Former Illinois Department of Commerce official to expand real estate firm's economic development incentives, strategy practice
CHICAGO, Jan. 20, 2016 /PRNewswire/ -- Cresa Consulting Group, an advisory practice that aligns a company's operational plan with a forward-looking real estate plan, today announced the hiring of former Illinois Department of Commerce and Economic Opportunity (IDCEO) Deputy Director Bob Westover as vice president.
In this role, Westover will act as a strategic advisor for clients in the group's professional services practice in Chicago. As part of the comprehensive cross-disciplinary consulting team, he will help clients identify, obtain and comply with economic development incentives with Illinois and other states throughout the region. Working closely with Cresa's clients, he will determine whether projects meet incentive qualifications across the Midwest, act as a primary liaison with government officials, lead projects through the application process and assess site locations.
"Bob is uniquely qualified to help our clients navigate the complex world of economic development incentives," Cresa Managing Partner Sheila Samii Matuscak said. "By developing strategies for identifying and obtaining these high-value opportunities, he will be an important local resource for our firm's national client base."
Westover is a former high-ranking IDCEO business development official. While at IDCEO, he took a lead role for more than a decade in developing economic incentives for businesses, assessing applicants and awarding credits on behalf of the State of Illinois. From 2004-2015, he served as IDCEO deputy director and assistant deputy director for business development. In these roles, he vetted and interviewed incentive project applicants, supervised economic development and real estate and site selection staff, drafted legislation to improve the utility and applicability of the agency's primary tax credit program, and testified during legislative sessions to support the proposed modifications.
"For more than two decades, Cresa has been the recognized industry leader in tenant real estate representation," Westover said. "Leveraging my experience, I look forward to building on the firm's success and working closely with my Cresa team members to develop winning strategies for our clients."
Prior to his IDCEO service, Westover was a corporate development director at STERIS Corporation, where he provided portfolio analysis of the company's product offerings and conducted valuations and due diligence for acquisitions. He also was a strategic services associate at A.T. Kearney, Inc., where he developed corporate strategy, conducted competitive analyses, developed new and evaluated existing service lines, and conducted acquisition/divestiture analyses for potential deals. He holds a Master of Business Administration from the University of Michigan and a bachelor's degree in finance from Miami University.
About Cresa Consulting Group
With a strong multidimensional team, Cresa Consulting Group helps clients make educated decisions around operations, labor, location, logistics and real estate—aligning a company's operational plan with a forward looking real estate plan, and creating leverage for incentive negotiations. A division of the international corporate real estate advisory firm Cresa, CCG provides a deep look into every aspect of business, including drivers, infrastructure, supply chain, corporate structure and desire future state, to help you determine the best path forward. CCG's consulting services are applicable to all industries and segments, including office, industrial, healthcare, biopharma, government and technology.
Cresa is an international corporate real estate advisory firm that exclusively represents tenants and specializes in the delivery of fully integrated real estate services, including Transaction Management, Project Management, Relocation Planning and Management, Strategic Planning, Workforce and Location Planning, Subleases and Dispositions, Lease Administration, Capital Markets, Sustainability, Supply Chain and Facilities Consulting. With more than 50 offices, Cresa is the largest tenant representation firm in North America. Internationally, Cresa covers more than 125 locations in 35 countries. For more information, visit www.cresa.com.
Media Contact
Brennan J. Anderson
312-207-2369 x224
[email protected]
SOURCE Cresa Consulting Group
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