Donna Abood has been named Vice Chairman and Co-Head, Florida at Savills. Abood is an accomplished commercial real estate executive who will work alongside Mike Griffin, a vice chairman who currently serves as Market Leader for Savills Tampa Bay office and is being promoted to co-head, Florida.
Together, Abood and Griffin will spearhead Savills growth strategy, focusing on recruiting and retention, revenue production, and increasing the brand’s visibility in the state. Abood will oversee the firm’s operations from South Florida up to Tampa Bay, while Griffin will be responsible for overseeing Tampa Bay and regions north of the city, as well as the Naples and Fort Myers markets. Tom Capocefalo will continue as market leader for Savills Miami office and serve as one of the firm’s key professionals in South Florida. He will work closely with Abood to strengthen the firm’s South Florida operations.
“In hiring Donna and elevating Mike, we are signaling to the market – and our competitors – that Savills is firmly planting its flag in the Sunshine State. I am confident that their leadership, and our Florida team’s commitment to guiding clients through the region’s commercial real estate landscape, will significantly enhance our operations and drive our success in Florida,” said Janet Woods, president of Savills North America.
Abood previously served as principal and co-managing director of Avison Young in Miami, joining the company after her firm, Abood Wood-Fay Real Estate Group LLC, was acquired by Avison Young in 2014. At Avison Young, she became the first female managing director in the firm’s history.
Over the course of her career, Abood has leased over 80 million square feet of office space on behalf of local and institutional ownership groups, including completing hundreds of transactions on behalf of tenants she has represented. In addition to Abood’s arrival, Peyton Dowd and Joseph Abood will also join Savills as managing directors. Both will work alongside Abood in the firm’s Miami office.
