TERRY COYNE
Terry Coyne, vice chairman of
Newmark Knight Frank, knows the
pulse of Downtown Cleveland’s redevelopment, along with strategic suburban pockets that are ripe for development. He has worked with just about
every city planner, developer, construction company and real estate
lender in town.
Coyne has the unique ability to
work throughout the spectrum of the
commercial real estate platform, such as investments, industrial,
office, financing and incentives. Because he takes the time to
get to know the assets and the markets they fall within, while
constantly keeping up with research and news, he remains an
expert at the forefront of his field.
But Coyne isn’t just a local top performer; he’s consistently
been ranked as a top broker for the firm nationally. Over the
past 10 years, he has been involved in the sale or leasing of more
than $1 billion worth of real estate. Amongst his notable recent
accomplishments are his work with Scannell Cos., a regional
leader in industrial spec buildings. Coyne and his team
accounted for nearly two million square feet in new construction throughout Northeast Ohio over the past few years.
In addition to being an active industry leader, Coyne is a
dedicated community leader as a board member of the Rock
and Roll Hall of Fame and Museum, Village Capital Corp. and
Magnificat High School.
JAY CORNFORTH
For most of his 20-plus-year career, Jay
Cornforth has focused on the industrial warehouse space. He joined
Brookfield Asset Management after
spending a decade with Prologis and
AMB, which the former acquired in
2011. There, he managed an operating
portfolio of 92 million square feet and
a development land bank in excess of
30 million square feet as president of
the East region.
Brookfield hired Cornforth in 2013 to lead and expand its
industrial business, which the firm had targeted for aggressive
growth. The managing partner and global head of industrial was
immediately tasked with leading Brookfield’s acquisition and
rebranding of Gazeley, a developer of large-scale logistics W&D
parks in strategic locations across the UK, Western Europe and
China. The year prior, Brookfield acquired Verde, an owner, operator and developer of distribution facilities in the US and Mexico.
Under Cornforth’s supervision, IDI Gazely was transformed
into one of the world’s leading investors and developers of logistics warehouses and distribution facilities. In 2017, he led the sale
of the company’s European arm, Gazeley, realizing a gross IRR of
47%. The US arm were retained and rebranded IDI Logistics, and
operated as a portfolio company of Brookfield, a global investor
with $265 billion in assets under management.
Today, New York City-based Cornforth oversees more than 31
million square feet of high-quality logistics properties across the
US, along with the activities of a healthy development pipeline. MICHAEL W. BRENNAN
Michael Brennan’s expertise in industrial real estate is such that one can say
he wrote the book on the topic. In fact,
he did, having directed the creation of
“The Guide to Classifying Industrial
Property Types,” a guide outlining a
precise classification system for industrial properties. The only one of its
kind, the book was written under the
auspices of the Urban Land Institute
and provides an in-depth review of the
characteristics and evolution of the industrial property sector.
And Brennan should know, having held senior roles within
some of the leading organizations in the field. Notably, he co-founded First Industrial Realty Trust in 1994, and served as president, CEO and board member for some 14 years.
Today, he is the co-founder, chairman and managing principal
of Brennan Investment Group, a private owner and operator of
industrial properties. Since its formation in 2010, the Chicago-based firm has grown from start-up status to an ownership and
management of a $3-billion-plus industrial portfolio, comprised of
35 million square feet of space across 27 states.
Considered an expert in his field, Brennan also serves as executive director of the University of Wisconsin’s James A. Graaskamp
Center for Real Estate. Having orchestrated $14 billion-plus in
industrial transactions during his 33-year career, he made headlines recently with the acquisition of Busse Farm in Elk Grove
Village. Long coveted by countless investors, the 86-acre site is the
largest infill plot in the O’Hare submarket. Brennan plans to turn
the site into a $1-billion technology park—a project that’s said to be
one of the most significant industrial developments in the country.
TOM A. BAK
Trammell Crow Co. senior managing
director Tom Bak and his team are
known for “anticipating where the puck
will go.” It is that innovation, responsiveness and speed-to-market that have
always differentiated the team.
Based in Newport Beach, CA and
focused on the West Coast, Bak serves
as a member of the Trammell Crow
operating committee and is both an
industrial and office subject matter
expert for the its national investment committee. He is tasked
with raising capital, setting investment strategy, generating deal
flow, structuring transactions, advising on financing and asset
management and property-related issues.
Bak also oversees the day-to-day activities of Trammell Crow’s
Southern California-Newport Beach development and investment professionals. During the past three years, under Bak’s
leadership, the SoCal Newport Beach business unit has built up a
construction portfolio of 3. 3 million square feet of industrial
product spanning 180 acres.
Bak began his career with Trammell Crow in 1985 as a leasing
agent. Over the years, he’s held roles of increasing responsibility
with the company, including partner and senior managing director. He’s also served as a member of TCC’s Operating Committee
and as an expert for the National Investment Committee.
