Veteran real estate exec takes helm of DTZ office

The chance to return to the helm of a local commercial real estate firm proved too enticing for David Reed to pass up.

He left his managing director’s position in 2010 at the Indianapolis office of the CBRE brokerage to start his own real estate advising and consulting practice.

But now Reed, 58, has resurfaced in a new role at DTZ, which is looking to grow its Indianapolis presence. The company created a managing director’s position to lead its local office and quickly zeroed in on Reed. He joined the Chicago-based company April 16.

“It’s a great company with a number of global and national clients that have requirements in Indianapolis,” Reed said. “We just need to beef up our ranks to meet those requirements.”

DTZ’s local office consists of three brokers, an office manager and a project manager. The company, though, has quite a storied history.

Founded in London more than 200 years ago, the boutique brokerage has grown in recent years to 26,000 employees worldwide, thanks to a string of acquisitions. The growth stems from Los Angeles-based UGL’s purchase of Chicago-based Equis Corp. in 2006, Boston-based Unicco Service Co. the following year, and finally, DTZ in 2011.

UGL rebranded itself DTZ in 2012 and moved the company's headquarters to Chicago.

DTZ has had an Indianapolis presence about 20 years but under the Equis name. (DTZ’s local office is at Keystone at the Crossing, which is owned by Equus, which  has no affiliation to the former Equis). 

As managing director of DTZ’s local office, Reed will provide brokerage services. But his main charge will be recruiting brokers to grow its Indianapolis operations.

“As the company grows and expands its service lines, it wants to make more of an impact in the local market,” Reed said.

DTZ’s primary focus in the Indianapolis area will include office and industrial brokerage services, landlord and tenant representation, and corporate services.

Corporate clients include Rolls-Royce Corp.and Roche Diagnostics. DTZ helps both companies manage their properties worldwide.

Reed began his commercial real estate career in 1985 as a developer’s representative in Cincinnati. He joined Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corp.’s industrial group in 1993 and left 10 years later for CBRE, where he stayed from 2003 to 2010.

Charlie Podell, senior vice president of Duke’s Indiana operations, worked with Reed during his time at the publicly traded company and thinks he will do fine at DTZ.

“David was a pretty good dealmaker and a solid producer,” Podell said. “He really fit well within our team.”

Podell noted that Reed left because Duke didn’t have opportunities available for him to pursue a goal of becoming a manager.

Besides his role at DTZ, Reed also has an ownership interest in WisselReed Relocations, an Atlas Van Lines moving and storage franchise he started with his brother-in-law in 2007.