Brookfield Properties is shuffling the structure of its North American office business as it aggressively pursues acquisitions, particularly in New York.
Brookfield’s office segment is shifting to a function-driven management structure, jettisoning its past geography-based approach. The new leadership structure has six executives leading operations across North America, and the asset management firm has reduced its staff by at least six as part of the transition.
Bisnow/Ethan Rothstein
Brookfield is moving away from a regional management structure for its office segment.
“The North America office business is central to Brookfield’s DNA and a long-term priority for the enterprise,” Managing Partners Kevin McCrain and Lauren Young wrote in a memo to staff on June 5 and obtained by Bisnow. “The evolution of our business — from one largely comprised of forever-hold, balance sheet assets to a mix that also includes properties held in fund strategies with varied hold periods and return goals — has led us to examine our organizational structure.”
Brookfield declined to comment when reached Friday.
The reorganization will help Brookfield act more nimbly when opportunities present themselves as the asset manager looks to buy discounted office properties, specifically in New York, the source familiar with the plans said.
McCrain, who leads retail globally for Brookfield, is leading the new office team in North America. Young, who had been responsible for U.S. retail portfolio management, is also taking on the office portfolio and will report directly to McCrain.
Brookfield cut three members of its New York office leasing team and three staffers in Los Angeles as part of the reorganization, according to a source familiar with the moves.
The new leadership team includes President Bobby Swennes, who had already been in the role overseeing office investments, with the operations segment led by Cy Kouhestani, a former regional head for the Mid-Atlantic and Southeast Region, and David Sternberg, formerly the Northwest region executive vice president.
The North American office leasing business is headed by Jason Maurer, who was most recently responsible for the company’s retail leasing platform. Tyler Steel, chief financial officer for the U.S. retail business, will head the finance segment.
Rachel Wachtel, who was running Brookfield’s flexible workspace strategy, is also joining the leadership team along with Noah Daniels, an attorney who first joined Brookfield in 2018 and already provides legal support for North American office activities.
“This structure will enhance portfolio-wide strategy and decision-making. It will also streamline reporting, provide consistency for tenant engagement, strengthen collaboration and increase our flexibility to transact regardless of geography,” McCrain and Young wrote in their memo to staff.
Brookfield Properties, part of the broader massive alternative asset management firm Brookfield Corp., owns more than 150M SF of office space across 340 global properties.
In April, Brookfield gave up Houston’s largest office complex, handing the 4.6M SF property to AustralianSuper, which had provided a $219M mezzanine loan for the property in late 2017, and Stream Realty Partners. A month earlier, it sold a 330K SF office building in Washington, D.C., for $153M.
The company’s Los Angeles holdings have also been in flux in the last few years. Most recently, the company sold its 601 S. Figueroa office tower Downtown for $210M after extending its $250M loan on the property last year.
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