Team Will Expand Company's Ability to Serve Clients' Financing and Investment Sales Needs
SANTA ANA, Calif., May 27 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Jeffrey W. Shell, one of the industry's top corporate finance real estate professionals, has joined the company as executive vice president, effective immediately. His expertise in serving the financing and investment sales needs of owners and corporate users of single-tenant assets will allow Grubb & Ellis to better serve the real estate and capital needs of its corporate, institutional and developer clients.
Shell joins Grubb & Ellis from Cushman & Wakefield, where he was executive director, Investment Banking division, head of the company's Build-to-Suit Advisory Services global practice and a member of its Global Supply Chain Solutions group. Joining Shell at Grubb & Ellis are John S. Ecclestone and Amie D. Sweeney, CPA.
At Grubb & Ellis, Shell will head the company's Corporate Finance practice. In this capacity, he will report to Dylan Taylor, president, Global Client Services. In addition, he will be a part of the leadership teams of the Corporate Services and Institutional Capital Markets groups, enabling him to leverage his expertise to serve a broad range of clients across the nation. Shell and his team will operate from its existing location in Grosse Pointe, Mich.
"The addition of Jeff and his team significantly bolsters our capital markets platform, and at the same time, allows us to deliver differentiated, highly-specialized corporate finance capabilities to our clients," said Jack Van Berkel, executive vice president, president Real Estate Services. "The fact that Jeff has chosen the Grubb & Ellis platform as the best place to operate and grow his already successful national practice validates our go-to-market strategy and the momentum we have in the marketplace."
Shell, 48, joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1993. Since 2000, he and his team have closed transactions across North America valued in excess of $4 billion involving synthetic leases, bond leases, single-tenant investment sales (sale/leasebacks and sales subject to a lease) and numerous other structured equity and debt products on behalf of numerous corporate clients, including Procter & Gamble, Thomson Corporation, Mazda, and Discovery Communications.
Additionally, he has represented the nation's top developers and institutional owners in the investment sale or finance of single-tenant buildings leased to a diverse range of tenants, including General Electric, Bosch-Siemens, Aon Corporation, MetLife, ADP, HSBC and Walgreens.
"We represent a diverse group of clients with very specific needs. As corporations increasingly look for unique ways to monetize their owned real estate assets, it's our job to ensure that they have as many resources as possible to achieve their goals. For developers and owners, our ability to identify, structure and execute capital solutions for planned or existing assets is vital in today's capital markets," Shell said. "Grubb & Ellis' business model is based on a service philosophy that cuts across geographic and business lines to put all of its capabilities to work for clients. It is this client-centric approach that attracted us to the company."
Shell holds a bachelor's degree from Michigan State University. He is a member of the Council of Supply Chain Management Professionals and has been involved with the Urban Land Institute and CoreNet Global. He is a frequent speaker at various industry forums on the topic of build-to-suit financing, single-tenant, net-lease investment sales and structured finance for real estate.
Ecclestone, 38, joins Grubb & Ellis as Vice President. He spent more than four years as an associate director, Investment Banking, at Cushman & Wakefield, where he was a part of Shell's team. Prior to joining Cushman & Wakefield, Ecclestone spent 12 years at Ford Land, the real estate arm of Ford Motor Company. He holds a bachelor's degree from Boston College and is a member of the Urban Land Institute.
Sweeney, 45, joins Grubb & Ellis as Senior Financial Analyst, with more than 20 years of accounting experience, including two years with Cushman & Wakefield's Investment Banking division. As a member of Shell's team, she is responsible for the preparation and analysis of a wide variety of financial models associated with the sale and financing of single-tenant assets. Sweeney earned her bachelor's degree from Ohio State University and is a certified public accountant. She is a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants and the Michigan Association of Certified Public Accountants.
About Grubb & Ellis
Named to The Global Outsourcing 100(TM) in 2009 by the International Association of Outsourcing Professionals(TM), Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,000 professionals in more than 130 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm's transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through Grubb & Ellis Realty Investors, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), tenant-in-common (TIC) investments suitable for tax-deferred 1031 exchanges and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.
