Industry-leading team joins Avison Young's New York City office

Michael Gottlieb and Martin Cottingham become Principals as Avison Young continues its aggressive expansion in the Tri-State market

NEW YORK CITY, May 1, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, for Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today the hiring of a team of prominent, industry-leading professionals to join the company's newly established office in New York City.

Effective immediately, Michael Gottlieb and Martin Cottingham join Avison Young as Principals. The announcement comes on the heels of Avison Young opening its first office in New York City last week and the hiring of industry leader Arthur J. Mirante, II as Principal and Tri-State President.

The New York City office marks Avison Young's 13th location outside of Canada. Over the past three years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 30 offices and from 300 to more than 900 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S.

Prior to joining Avison Young, Gottlieb and Cottingham worked in the New York offices of Grubb & Ellis, where Gottlieb led a top-producing transaction services team, while Cottingham was a top producer in the corporate services area. Together, they represented major corporate clients and handled multi-market transactions.

"These hires reflect Avison Young's strategic approach to the assemblage of a hand-selected team of the industry's top talent to ensure we are strongly positioned to deliver best-in-class client service," comments Webb. "We look forward to further building our presence in the Tri-State area through the high-level recruitment of professionals with established track records of success in the local market, and who embody Avison Young's distinctive principal-led, client-centric culture."

Webb continues: "As we expand our presence in the critical Tri-State market, we are confident that the experience and strong industry relationships that Michael and Martin bring to our organization will contribute immeasurably to further strengthening our regional presence. Their diverse skill sets support our focus on delivering fully integrated solutions to our clients."

During his more than 30-year career, Gottlieb has completed millions of square feet of transactions valued in excess of $2 billion. He has participated in all aspects of the real estate business, including property management, tenant representation, landlord agency, capital market transactions and the structuring of joint ventures. At Avison Young, Gottlieb will focus on transaction management assignments.

Gottlieb was most recently Vice-Chairman, Transaction Services at Grubb & Ellis in New York. Prior to his 14 years at Grubb & Ellis, he was a Senior Managing Director at Insignia/ESG (now CBRE). His vast experience also includes financing, workouts, lease auditing, development of financial models for transaction analysis, and general counsel responsibilities for a private investment portfolio.

"I was attracted to Avison Young by the high-level caliber of people joining the firm around the country as well as the ability to be part of a culture that fosters top-quality work product through open collaboration," states Gottlieb. "Avison Young's principal-led, client-service model is extremely appealing. I am confident it will enhance my ability to service clients and enable me to become involved in many significant projects with my new partners. I look forward to playing a major role in the company's continued growth in the Tri-State area."

Cottingham brings more than 17 years of experience to his new role at Avison Young. He was previously Managing Director, Corporate Services Group, for Grubb & Ellis, where he oversaw the firm's corporate services effort in the Northeast region. The group offered corporate clients a full array of planning, financial analysis and portfolio management services via an integrated platform of quality standards, processes and account oversight.

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Cottingham was a Managing Director at Bear Stearns & Company, where he was responsible for all global facility management, property management, design, development, construction, facility planning, furniture procurement and corporate services units for a real estate portfolio totaling more than four million square feet.

"It is exciting to be joining a firm that is growing so rapidly across North America, and to be part of furthering the company's quality reputation as it establishes its presence in the Tri-State area," adds Cottingham. "I look forward to leveraging my experience in high-level corporate service to further develop Avison Young's local and international client relationships and consulting business."

In addition to Gottlieb and Cottingham, Dana Trulis joins Avison Young as a Vice-President in the New York office and will focus on business development. Most recently, Trulis worked in the corporate services group of Grubb & Ellis, where she served as a senior marketing coordinator. In that role, she assisted the team in the pursuit of new business and account coordination. She also acted as a coordinator of client services for the group as it sought to provide real estate strategy and program execution in the New York market for clients with multi-market global portfolios.

Prior to joining Grubb & Ellis, Trulis was a sales and marketing manager for Bravo Holiday Residences, a property management company, where she cultivated business relationships, implemented marketing strategies and supported existing client accounts for a portfolio valued in excess of $1 million.

In February, Avison Young was named a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business.

Founded in 1978, Avison Young is Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company. Headquartered in Toronto, Ontario, Avison Young is also the largest Canadian-owned, principal-managed commercial real estate brokerage firm in North America. Comprising more than 900 real estate professionals in 30 offices across Canada and the U.S., the full-service commercial real estate company provides value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-residential properties.

Editors/Reporters: please click on links to view and download photos of Michael Gottlieb, Martin Cottingham and Dana Trulis
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AY_MichaelGottlieb.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AY_MartinCottingham.jpg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AY_DanaTrulis.jpg

For further information/comment/photos:

New York Media Relations:
• Christa Segalini, Vice-President, Beckerman PR: (201) 465-8021

• Elliot Baum, Principal and Vice-President of Marketing, New York, Avison Young: (212) 729-7465

Avison Young Media Relations:
• Sherry Quan, National Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: (604) 647-5098; cell: (604) 726-0959

• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: (312) 957-7610

• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: (416) 673-4028

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young is a winner of Canada's 50 Best Managed Companies program for 2011, sponsored by Deloitte, CIBC, National Post and Queen's School of Business

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SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.