Cushman & Wakefield has promoted Guy Bennett to Managing Director, CRE Australia & New Zealand, taking over from Simon Fenn.

Bennett, who will permanently relocate to Sydney this year, has 23 years of experience in commercial real estate, having worked in London, Sydney and Adelaide.

He has worked on both the client and advisory side, including stints with J.P. Morgan, EY and Charter Hall in a national role working across all facets of property and funds management.

During Guy’s 10 years back in Adelaide, he quickly became the leading broker in the market with a circa 75% market share of assets over $50m.

The move comes after Fenn chose to move back into the transactional side of the business as National Director – Industrial & Logistics Capital Markets, NSW, having successfully grown the Commercial Real Estate business in Australia and New Zealand over the past two years.

Matthew Bouw, Cushman & Wakefield’s Chief Executive Asia Pacific said the CRE business has grown rapidly over the last five years through a mixture of M&A, strategic hiring and organic growth.

“Having previously worked with a leading REIT (Charter Hall) in Sydney in a national role across all markets and sectors of property, Guy has a deeply entrenched national network and is extremely well regarded externally and internally, with a well-rounded background and the ability to see and lead the agency business through a non-traditional lens,” he said.

“Since joining Cushman & Wakefield recently, Guy has worked with the national leadership team on Cushman & Wakefield’s growth strategy, including the diversification of the firm’s services and sectors across Australia and investment in its people and technology.”

Guy Bennett, Cushman & Wakefield’s Managing Director, CRE Australia & New Zealand, said he was excited to propel the national CRE business into the future, whilst utilising his market knowledge and experience to further service the firm’s client base.

“I am honoured to follow in Simon Fenn’s footsteps and look forward to leading the Cushman & Wakefield business into the next stage of its growth cycle,” he said.

“This is an exciting time for the Commercial Real Estate industry and I look forward to building on the strong foundations already in place around the country.”