P
atrick Murphy, a seven-year veteran of Cushman & Wakefield, has announced his resignation from the firm. His last day will be September 13th. Murphy will be joining JLL next month, but his new title has not been disclosed yet. He was an executive vice chair in Cushman's New York City office.
Murphy's move comes as a surprise as he was poached from CBRE in 2017 by then president of the tri-state region — and current WeWork CEO — John Santora. At the time, he was one of the ten biggest dealmakers in the city, according to a ranking by The Real Deal. During his 15-year run at CBRE, Murphy represented major clients such as MetLife, the Swiss bank UBS, and the tax-and-advisory firm KPMG.
Murphy's recent notable deals at Cushman include the Major League Baseball Players Association's 50,000-square-foot relocation to 1325 Sixth Avenue, MetLife's 180,000-square-foot renewal at 200 Park Avenue, and IBM's 328,000-square-foot deal at One Madison Avenue.
JLL and Murphy did not immediately respond to a request for comment from the publication. Cushman declined to comment on the matter. Prior to his time at Cushman and CBRE, Murphy held roles at Baker Harris CPC and Insignia/ESG.
CBRE hires top office broker away from Fisher Brothers
Top CBRE broker Patrick Murphy heads to Cushman & Wakefield
Cushman in crisis: $3B in debt, leadership carousel
Cushman, historically one of the more venerable commercial brokerages, has been facing notable difficulties in recent months. TRD reported earlier this year there is a crisis of confidence at the firm, with complaints of a lack of clear leadership as the top post at the company evolved into a revolving door. A heavy debt load is also allowing rivals — including JLL — to position themselves better in the battle for brokerage supremacy.
Cushman's New York City sales office last year lost the top brokerage team led by Doug Harmon and Adam Spies and a group led by Dan O'Brien. Both poached teams were poached by Newmark.
