James Delmonte and Elliot Baum join Avison Young to increase depth of client-service platform in Tri-State market

Research and marketing veterans join as Principals

NEW YORK CITY, July 2, 2012 /PRNewswire/ - Arthur J. Mirante, II, Principal and Tri-State President of Avison Young, Canada's largest independently-owned commercial real estate services company, announced today that real estate research and marketing veterans James Delmonte and Elliot Baum have joined the company's newly established office in New York City.

Delmonte joins as a Principal and Vice-President of Research, New York City, and Baum joins as a Principal and Vice-President of Marketing, New York City.

One of the industry's most highly regarded research professionals, Delmonte will be responsible for overseeing all aspects of Avison Young's market research in the Tri-State area, including tracking in excess of 500 million square feet (msf) within more than 2,000 properties. He was most recently Vice-President of Research with Jones Lang LaSalle in New York.

An industry veteran with more than 20 years of creative marketing experience, Baum will be responsible for directing Avison Young's marketing, public relations and branding efforts throughout the Tri-State region. He was previously head of marketing for the Tri-State region of Colliers International.

"The addition of these highly regarded professionals to our team reflects Avison Young's focus on assembling the first-rate infrastructure needed to deliver exceptional service to our clients," comments Mirante. "The extensive expertise and market prowess that James and Elliot bring to Avison Young will undoubtedly serve to foster our Tri-State growth objectives."

Avison Young Principal Greg Kraut in New York adds: "In recruiting the industry's top research and marketing experts, we are ensuring that the brokerage and advisory professionals joining our Tri-State team have access to the highest quality of resources to support their ability to execute. Having the experience and insight of James and Elliot provides us with a distinct competitive advantage to effectively compete in this market and continue to attract top-tier talent to our organization."

In recent weeks, Avison Young has aggressively expanded its Tri-State market presence, making several high-profile hires following April's announcement of the firm opening its first office in New York City.

Delmonte brings more than 17 years of experience to his role at Avison Young. In addition to his former position with Jones Lang LaSalle, Delmonte also previously served as Director of Research for Cushman & Wakefield, where he worked in both the firm's world headquarters and downtown offices.

"Delivering first-rate and thorough research products supports Avison Young's ability to assist clients in navigating evolving market conditions and identifying the most advantageous solutions for clients' real estate requirements," says Delmonte. "I am excited to be joining a firm that has established such a high-quality reputation for excellence, and am confident that Avison Young's national and international platform will provide me with a strong foundation to offer even more comprehensive market intelligence."

During his career, Baum has successfully marketed and repositioned more than 20 million square feet of properties including such notable New York City buildings as Olympic Tower at 645 Fifth Avenue, Tower 49 and 224 W 57th Street (branded as the Argonaut Building). He previously led the rebranding of GVA Williams to Colliers International and built Colliers' graphic and marketing department and consulting group, collaborating with brokerage professionals on client pitches and projects to support new business initiatives. He also previously served as Creative Consultant with Studley, where he provided creative marketing, design and production services to support all of the firm's headquarters departments, national offices, global affiliates and brokerage initiatives.

"I have built my career in real estate providing creative ideas and utilizing my process of design and marketing to develop concepts and strategy in order to create value for companies and to assist in transactions. I look forward to continuing in that role at Avison Young," states Baum. "I am thrilled to be working alongside such an accomplished team of professionals in the Tri-State market, as well as across the company, and am excited to leverage my years of specialized experience to assist Avison Young in elevating its brand awareness and fostering its continued growth."

Avison Young now has 15 locations outside of Canada. Over the past three years, the firm has grown from 11 to 32 offices and from 300 to more than 950 real estate professionals across Canada and the U.S.

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 950 real estate professionals in 32 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 James Delmonte, Elliot Baum
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AY_JamesDelmonte.jpeg
http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/AY_ElliotBaum.jpeg

SOURCE Avison Young (Canada) Inc.