Michelle MacKay, Cushman & Wakefield’s current president and chief operating officer, will become CEO on July 1, 2023, following John Forrester’s retirement from his 35-year tenure as CEO, which is expected on June 30. MacKay has been elected to also serve on the Board of Directors, while Forrester will remain at the firm as a strategic advisor until December 31, 2023.
Also, Andrew McDonald, who is currently the president of Cushman & Wakefield, will assume an expanded role of global president and chief operating officer overseeing all the firm’s service lines and regions.
“I look forward to partnering with Andrew and collaborating with our teams around the world to amplify our positive impact for clients, shareholders and the cities and communities in which we operate,” Mackay said in prepared remarks.
MacKay joined Cushman & Wakefield as a member of its Board of Directors in 2018 and was then appointed to the position of COO in 2020. By Jan. 1, 2022 she was promoted to president and COO with operational and management oversight of many of the firm’s service lines and regions, including the EMEA region, Global Occupier Services and C&W Services.
Previously, she served as EVP, Investments and head of Capital Markets at iStar, Inc., and has also served in leadership roles at UBS, when it was known as Paine Webber, JPMorgan Chase and The Hartford Insurance Company’s investment arm HIMCO.
McDonald has been with Cushman & Wakefield for more than 20 years, most recently serving as president of Cushman & Wakefield since 2021, leading the firm’s largest business lines in the Americas and Asia Pacific regions.
