JLL names new CEO of its Americas Leasing Advisory
A 35-year veteran of strategic planning and real estate brokerage has been selected as the new CEO of JLL’s Americas Leasing advisory business.
Michael Colacino, who for the last two years served as president of JLL’s Tri-State Brokerage, will succeed John Gates, who has served as CEO of the unit for the past 17 years.
Gates now moves on as executive chairman of JLL’s leasing advisory business.
"Michael's proven leadership, strategic acumen, and technology-forward approach will drive the evolution of our business, while John's transition to executive chairman allows us to leverage his market relationships and industry expertise," said Karen Brennan, CEO of JLL's global leasing advisory business.
Colacino’s career in commercial real estate commenced at Studley, where he led a management buyout and served as president from 2002 until the firm's acquisition by Savills in 2014.
At Savills he ran the U.S. operations and served on the global executive board. He later founded the prop-tech investment firm Haiku Partners in 2019, before moving into the CEO spot at SquareFoot, an office space brokerage.
"I'm honored to lead our talented Americas leasing team and build on John's tremendous success," said Colacino. "With JLL's exceptional people and our advanced technology platform and data analytics capabilities, we're focused on insights that drive smarter real estate decisions and outstanding client results."
Gates began his real estate career in 1990 at The Staubach Company, the tenant representation and lease negation firm founded by legendary Dallas Cowboys quarterback Roger Staubach, that merged with JLL in 2008.
As executive chairman, Gates will focus on building relationships with occupier clients, targeted broker recruitment, and oversight of Mexico operations.
During his tenure as CEO, Gates strengthened JLL's presence across the Americas, expanded leasing capabilities in key markets and established the firm's industrial and logistics business.
He also launched JLL University, one of the firm's most regarded training programs and advanced the “Champions of Excellence” tradition celebrating employees' outstanding career contributions to the firm and communities.
"This was an opportune time for me to transition to a role where I can dedicate more time to clients and help continue to source top-talent,” Gates said. “I know that our business is in good hands with Michael and look forward to helping him achieve JLL's next phase of growth."