Cushman & Wakefield has named Michelle MacKay, currently president and chief operating officer, as its new chief executive officer on July 1 following the retirement of current CEO John Forrester. Forrester will remain employed as a strategic advisor until December 31, 2023. In addition, MacKay was elected to serve on the board of directors, effective July 1. Brett White will remain as executive chairman of the board.
“On behalf of Cushman & Wakefield’s board of directors, I thank John for his dedication and service to the firm and to the commercial real estate services industry over his long and distinguished career,” White said. “John is a revered industry leader known for his integrity, work ethic and deep client knowledge. His tremendous efforts over the past several years have strengthened the firm’s foundation and culture and the board is sincerely grateful for his contribution.”
Andrew McDonald, currently president of Cushman & Wakefield, was appointed to an expanded role of global president and chief operating officer overseeing all the firm’s service lines and regions.
MacKay joined Cushman & Wakefield as a member of its board in 2018. She was appointed to the position of COO in 2020 and promoted to president and COO on January 1, 2022, with direct operational and management oversight of many of the firm’s service lines and regions, including the EMEA region, Global Occupier Services and C&W Services.
A seasoned commercial real estate executive with more than 30 years of experience at a variety of public and privately held companies, she has served on three public company boards, including Cushman & Wakefield’s from 2018 to 2020, and is renowned for unlocking value for real estate assets and companies. Previously, she served as executive vice president, investments and head of capital markets at iStar Inc., a real estate investment trust (REIT) company (which has since merged with Safehold Inc.). She also has significant capital allocation and financial institution expertise, having served in leadership roles at UBS (previously Paine Webber), JPMorgan Chase and The Hartford Insurance Company’s investment arm HIMCO.
Mr. McDonald has been with Cushman & Wakefield for more than 20 years. Prior to his role as President, Mr. McDonald held several senior leadership roles at Cushman & Wakefield after a 15-year career as a top brokerage professional, including chief executive for the Americas region, president of the Americas West Region and regional managing principal of Southern California for Cushman & Wakefield.
