Avison Young names Brian Bellew as Managing Director of Enterprise Solutions

Highly regarded real estate professional becomes Principal, will lead Enterprise Solutions team

TORONTO, Sept. 29, 2016 /PRNewswire/ - Mark E. Rose, Chair and CEO of Avison Young, the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm, announced today the strategic hiring of highly regarded corporate real estate professional Brian Bellew.

Effective immediately, Bellew becomes a Principal of Avison Young and Managing Director of Enterprise Solutions. Based in the firm's Chicago office, Bellew will lead the firm's enterprise solutions practice and U.S.-based consulting activities, including the enhancement and development of enterprise solutions resources, business development initiatives, and co-ordination of open-architecture market resources. Working with Keith Lipton, Avison Young's Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Operations, Bellew will also assist with the recruitment of enterprise solutions professionals and the development of other resources that support or align with Avison Young's broader global corporate strategy.

Bellew most recently led the real estate portfolio strategy team at Johnson Controls' global workplace solutions division.

"We're thrilled to welcome Brian, who is a highly regarded enterprise solutions professional, to Avison Young's corporate leadership team," comments Rose. "We have designed Brian's position specifically to accelerate the growth of our comprehensive suite of solutions for the corporate client. Brian is someone with commercial real estate business development experience, enterprise solutions skills, and a strong track record of entrepreneurship and innovation. As we continue to expand across the U.S., Canada and globally, it is critical for us to develop and expand our enterprise solutions base, ensuring that we remain connected 24/7 with our clients, business partners and Avison Young professionals."

Rose continues: "Brian will be a key resource as we complete increasingly complex and diverse assignments for our clients in a cloud-based environment. He will ensure that our enterprise solutions software offerings interact seamlessly with our clients' steadily expanding mobile offices, workplace technologies, networks and databases. His presence will also ensure that we provide ongoing strategic business development opportunities for our company, clients and business partners."

Bellew brings more than 25 years of broad-based corporate real estate experience to Avison Young with an emphasis on strategic portfolio planning, account management and operations. At Johnson Controls (JCI) (2005-2015), Bellew advised a major JCI business unit and led the successful delivery of consulting assignments for clients, including Agilent, Delta Air Lines, Hewlett Packard, IMS Health, LSG Sky Chefs, Otis Elevator, Sealed Air Diversey and Randstad.

Prior to joining JCI, Bellew was Vice-President at USI Real Estate (1991-2005), where he established the firm's Chicago office and began its tenant representation, strategic consulting and transitions/operations practices. While at USI, Bellew led the launch, improvement and augmentation of multi-million-dollar real estate alliances for clients, including American Express, Charles Schwab, Computer Sciences Corporation, Manpower, Motorola, T-Mobile, Ryder and United Technologies. Prior to joining USI, Bellew was part of Trammell Crow's corporate services group where he led a highly successful internal marketing program.

"Brian's appointment represents another milestone in our firm's corporate growth based on a collaborative culture," notes Earl Webb, Avison Young's President, U.S. Operations. "As the commercial real estate industry becomes increasingly global, we are servicing bigger and bigger companies every day. Well, big business means big data. In order to accommodate large organizations, we must be able to handle big data effectively. Perhaps more importantly, we must also create – and manage – digital disruption. Often, these challenges of managing big data and creating technological disruption are beyond a person's scope of expertise; however, Bellew understands them intuitively. Therefore, he and his team will be able to generate ongoing business growth for our company, clients and partners in today's digital age."

"I am excited to welcome someone with Brian's depth of enterprise solutions experience to Avison Young," adds Lipton. "As Brian takes on this new role, his proven leadership and corporate services expertise will complement our existing full-service platform. Brian, along with the team that he helps us recruit, will also provide our U.S.-based consulting clients with strategic advice on a variety of mission-critical topics such as transaction management, mergers and acquisitions, due diligence and leveraging technology for business solutions."

Bellew holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in government from Harvard University. He is a licensed Illinois real estate broker, LEED Green Associate and Facility Management Professional (FMP). More recently, he co-edited a book on entrepreneurship. He also serves as an ambassador to the Chicago Humanities Festival.

"I'm thrilled to be joining a high-growth firm like Avison Young to expand and grow its enterprise solutions practice in order to achieve the Avison Young vision," says Bellew. "The highly collaborative, Principal-led culture at Avison Young provides a solid foundation for delivering the world-class corporate services that occupiers and owners demand. The firm is already a recognized leader in the marketplace, and its deliberate and disciplined enhancement of enterprise solutions will add to that market presence and capability set."

Over the past seven and a half years, Avison Young has grown from 11 to 78 offices and from 300 to more than 2,400 real estate professionals in Canada, the U.S., Mexico and Europe.

Avison Young is the world's fastest-growing commercial real estate services firm. Headquartered in Toronto, Canada, Avison Young is a collaborative, global firm owned and operated by its principals. Founded in 1978, the company comprises 2,400 real estate professionals in 78 offices, providing value-added, client-centric investment sales, leasing, advisory, management, financing and mortgage placement services to owners and occupiers of office, retail, industrial and multi-family properties.

For further information/comment/photos:

• Sherry Quan, Principal, Global Director of Communications & Media Relations, Avison Young: 604.647.5098; cell: 604.726.0959
• Mark Rose, Chair and CEO, Avison Young: 416.673.4028
• Earl Webb, President, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 312.957.7610
• Keith Lipton, COO, U.S. Operations, Avison Young: 202.644.8683
• Brian Bellew, Principal and Managing Director, Enterprise Solutions, Avison Young: 312.837.0448

www.avisonyoung.com

Avison Young was a winner of Canada's Best Managed Companies program in 2011, 2012, 2013 and 2014 and requalified in 2015 to maintain its status as a Best Managed Gold company

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Editors/Reporters:
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http://www.avisonyoung.com/sites/default/files/content-files/Media_Room/Temp/BrianBellew.jpg

SOURCE Avison Young Commercial Real Estate (BC)

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