Big moves across LA’s commercial real estate: Westwood Financial taps new CEO

Westwood Financial has named a new chief executive: KC Fields. He is replacing Mark Bratt, who stepped down in December after six years at the helm. The Los Angeles-based retail real estate investment company was founded in 1970 by Howard Banchik and Steve Fogel, current co-chairmen. 

Prior to Westwood Financial, Fields was a senior vice president at Philips Edison & Company, an owner and operator of grocery-anchored center retail. 

A CEO shakeup wasn’t the only move throughout Los Angeles’ commercial real estate world during the third quarter of the year. CBRE, Kidder Matthews and JLL made some new hires — and Colliers and Uncommon Developers announced a rather unconventional partnership.

• The largest commercial real estate services company in the world CBRE hired Jon Azulay, who will be based in West Los Angeles and a partner on a tenant representation team. Azulay was at Savills for about two decades and has completed more than $3 billion in transactions, representing around 2.5 million square feet. 

He’s brokered corporate headquarters relocations, managed international portfolios and advised clients such as Fortune 500 companies, private equity firms and nonprofits. 

• Colliers and Uncommon Developers announced a strategic partnership with leasing veteran John Barganski, who was earlier at Brookfield for about two decades. This came after Uncommon Developers purchased a distressed, Brookfield-owned downtown office tower for less than the debt connected to it; Colliers brokered the deal then. Barganski will be part of the leasing and repositioning process for that tower at 601 S. Figueroa Street.

• Kidder Matthews hired Jamie Rogers, who’ll be located in Century City, where he will focus on tenant representation for office and retail occupiers throughout Greater Los Angeles. He has more than 20 years of commercial real estate experience and previously spent over a decade at CBRE in Los Angeles.

• SoCal Commercial Group joined The Agency’s Sherman Oaks office. The 11-member crew led by Greg Engel and Devon Peters has decades of combined experience and more than $1.5 billion in career sales. The group was previously with Compass.

• Rockwood Capital tapped Jimmy Yung to lead the company’s origination and capital deployment strategy, overseeing sourcing and structuring of commercial real estate credit investments. He’ll be based in Los Angeles. Yung has more than 27 years of experience in origination and investment management. He was at Blackstone for seven years, with its real estate debt fund. Prior to that, he was head of origination for TPG Global and earlier, Deutsche Bank.

• Cushman & Wakefield hired Chase Tagen to the company’s debt and equity practice. Based in Century City, Tagen will deliver advisory and liquidity solutions clients. Tagen has worked for Newmark, JLL and CBRE and has over 12 years of capital markets experience, in which he executed more than $30 billion in capital markets transactions.

• JLL hired Scott Smith, who’ll be based in Los Angeles and a part of a multi-housing team focused on appraisals. Smith has worked as an appraiser for First Republic Bank and JP Morgan Chase. 

• Concord Summit Capital tapped Jack McLarty for its capital markets group in Los Angeles. He’ll originate and structure commercial real estate debt and equity financing transactions for multifamily, office, retail, hospitality, industrial and mixed-use properties. McLarty was at Provident Bank, via its real estate arm, where he originated the largest loan in the bank’s almost 200-year history. 

• Mayer Brown hired Gabe Steffens as a real estate practices partner in Los Angeles. Steffens was previously general counsel of the Amherst Group for two years and global head of legal for Nuveen Real Estate for 16 years prior to that. The transactional lawyer has advised clients at the intersection of real estate and private equity.
• Steffens’ practice has touched upon joint ventures, acquisitions and dispositions, fund formation, and operating company investments and transactions. He oversaw legal strategy across multi-billion-dollar investment portfolios, led negotiations on transactions, and advised C-suite executives and boards of directors on governance and compliance.