LOS ANGELES, April 30, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Cassidy Turley, a leading commercial real estate services provider in the U.S., announced today that it is opening a Los Angeles office with the hiring of a team of industry veterans: Jonathan Larsen, who will head the office, Suzanne Lee, Eric Moore, and Katie Bernhisel. This initial group will establish and lead Cassidy Turley's growth in Los Angeles. 

They will serve in the following roles: 

• Mr. Larsen, Regional Managing Principal
• Ms. Lee, Managing Director, Principal
• Mr. Moore, Managing Director, Principal
• Ms. Bernhisel, Vice President

"With these key additions to our team, Cassidy Turley is executing one of its major strategic initiatives by developing a presence in the Los Angeles market. It was important to find the right people to lead this office, since Los Angeles is a critical market for our clients," said Mark Burkhart, Chief Executive Officer, Cassidy Turley. "Cassidy Turley's growth strategy is selective, thoughtful and client-led and we recognize the quality and sophistication that clients demand in Los Angeles. With Jonathan's leadership and the team's deep local market knowledge, we will leverage our robust platform to build a full-service office that delivers our best-in-class services."

Los Angeles is the second largest metro in the U.S. in terms of total employment, employing 3.8 million people in 2011. It is also the sixth largest office market (195.6 million square feet) and is the largest industrial warehouse market in the country (811.5 million square feet).  Mr. Larsen and his team will be focused on recruiting to support this expansive market.

"Cassidy Turley has quickly and successfully evolved into a key national commercial real estate services firm, with established offices across the country," said Jonathan Larsen, Regional Managing Principal, Cassidy Turley. "After learning more about Cassidy Turley, I discovered we share many of the same corporate and institutional clients. But perhaps what attracted me most to the company and its leadership is that we share the same values and culture. Suzanne, Eric, Katie and I admire their commitment to client service and quality execution as well as their focus on market, industry and community leadership. This mirrors our own business strategy and we're excited to be leading the charge in Los Angeles." 

"We aim to have a leadership presence in all the markets we serve," added Mr. Burkhart.  "Establishing our position in LA will complement our leadership positions in San Diego and Northern California."  Cassidy Turley is ranked by local business journals as the number 1, 2 or 3 brokerage firm in San Diego, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Sacramento and North Bay/Marin County. 

Mr. Larsen, Ms. Lee, Mr. Moore and Ms. Bernhisel all most recently worked in Transwestern's Los Angeles office, where Mr. Larsen oversaw the West Region Brokerage Group.  The team was focused on tenant advisory, agency leasing and investment sales.

Jonathan Larsen, a 25-year industry veteran, also served on the board of directors during his tenure at Transwestern.  His prior experience includes 15 years with Trammell Crow, where he was a principal and launched, managed and operated its profitable downtown Los Angeles office. He specializes in representing tenants for all office and industrial real estate needs and has extensive transaction experience including leasing, investment sales, buy-outs and sale/leasebacks.  Mr. Larsen's prior work experience also includes his role as First Vice President at CBRE. He is consistently ranked among the top real estate professionals in Los Angeles and is recognized as a top broker by CoStar and the Los Angeles Business Journal.

Suzanne Lee most recently served as Vice President of Transwestern's Tenant Advisory Services Group and has deep industry experience representing clients in the financial, technology, entertainment/media, professional services, nonprofit and government sectors, as well as experience in project leasing, acquisitions and sales. Before joining Transwestern in 2006, Ms. Lee worked at Trammell Crow Company and prior to that, she worked at Colliers International. Ms. Lee also spent seven years in marketing and product development in the technology industry, working with a wide range of corporate clients. She was honored in 2009 by Real Estate Southern California with its Women of Influence Award.

Eric Moore brings to Cassidy Turley 25 years of tenant advisory experience, spanning multiple industries and a broad spectrum of client requirements, including leasing, acquisition-disposition projects, early renewals and lease restructuring.  Mr. Moore most recently served as Senior Vice President of Transwestern's Tenant Advisory Services Group. He focuses on advisory services for corporate clients and nonprofit organizations and specializes in market analysis, transaction strategy and process. Mr. Moore has completed over 6 million square feet of transactions in all brokerage service lines throughout the West Coast. Previous work experience includes his roles as Vice President at Trammell Crow Company, Studley and Koll Development, as well as his Senior Associate role at CBRE.  

Katie Bernhisel most recently served as Senior Associate for Transwestern's Los Angeles Tenant Advisory Services Group. Ms. Bernhisel is responsible for marketing new business and maintaining existing regional and national client relationships. Prior to joining Transwestern, Ms. Bernhisel served as a portfolio leasing manager at Arden Realty. In this role, she managed and coordinated all facets of the commercial lease process including marketing, lease negotiations, space planning, lease preparation, construction and final move-in for a portfolio of 2.1 million square feet.

About Cassidy Turley

Cassidy Turley is a leading commercial real estate services provider with more than 3,500 professionals in more than 60 offices nationwide. The company represents a wide range of clients—from small businesses to Fortune 500 companies, from local non-profits to major institutions. The firm completed transactions valued at $22 billion in 2011, manages 455 million square feet on behalf of institutional, corporate and private clients and supports more than 28,000 domestic corporate services locations. Cassidy Turley serves owners, investors and tenants with a full spectrum of integrated commercial real estate services—including capital markets, tenant representation, corporate services, project leasing, property management, project and development services, and research and consulting. Cassidy Turley enhances its global service delivery outside of North America through a partnership with GVA, giving clients access to commercial real estate professionals across the globe. Please visit www.cassidyturley.com for more information about Cassidy Turley.

SOURCE Cassidy Turley