Avison Young bolsters global finance team with five strategic appointments

Avison Young announced five personnel appointments to enhance the company’s global expansion program, including the promotions of two finance leaders and the hiring of three leading professionals to newly created positions. Four of the five leaders are based in the Chicago office.

“We’re thrilled to expand our finance leadership team during our global expansion program,” siad Mark E. Rose, chair and CEO of Avison Young. “These strategic promotions and hires will bolster the team as we continue to deploy a tremendous amount of capital and expand our global footprint through more recruitment, mergers, acquisitions and new-office openings.”

The promotions and new hires include Tom Morande, who is promoted to chief financial officer, North America. A principal, he has served as Avison Young’s chief accounting officer since joining the company in 2015 and has 22 years of commercial real estate industry experience.

Filling Mornade’s former role, Ricardo (Rick) Jenkins has been promoted to chief accounting officer. A principal, he has 13 years of commercial real estate experience and was previously Avison Young’s global controller. He joined the firm in 2016.

Robert (Rob) Dunlop joined the firm and will serve as global treasurer: Dunlop brings 25 years of treasury and finance experience to Avison Young, most recently as vice president and group treasurer at INEOS Styrolution Group GmbH in Frankfurt, Germany. Ashwini Sawhney also joined Avison Young as director of strategy, bringing more than 15 years of corporate strategy and development experience to the firm. She previously worked in the corporate development groups of Fortune 1000 companies, as an advisor to private-equity-owned middle-market companies and at a global financial advisory firm.

Morande, Jenkins, Dunlop and Sawhney will be based in Avison Young’s Chicago office. Based in London, U.K., the firm also hired Steve Cresswell as European director of finance and operations. He brings 17 years of commercial real estate industry experience to Avison Young, most recently as EMEA CFO and COO of JLL’S office fit-out business.