Richard Cenkus
President, V&A Americas •
Richard Cenkus
President, V&A Americas •
As President, Valuation & Advisory, Americas, Rick is responsible for leading, optimizing, growing and transforming the firm’s Valuation & Advisory (V&A) business in the Americas region of Cushman & Wakefield which consists of 670+ employees, including over 520 production professionals, in 58 offices throughout Canada, Mexico, South America and the United States, and approximately $184 million in revenue in 2021. He is also a member of Cushman & Wakefield’s Compensation and Hiring Committees, Global Advisory Board, and Executive Leadership Program, as well as the Executive Sponsor of Cushman & Wakefield’s Next Generation Leadership Network and Military and Veteran Programs.
Prior to becoming the President of V&A in the Americas, Rick served as the Chief Operating Officer, Americas for Cushman & Wakefield. In that role, he was responsible for coordinating operational and administrative activities across all markets, service lines and support functions throughout the Americas region of Cushman & Wakefield which consists of 29,000 employees, in 215 offices and 10 countries. In this role, he ensured the delivery of these activities to client-facing professionals including fee-earners and other front-line colleagues. He also served as Chief of Staff to the CEO, Americas, and had a lead role in mergers and acquisitions and integration activities.
Prior to becoming the COO, Americas, Rick served as the North America General Counsel for Cushman & Wakefield. In that role, he was responsible for overseeing the legal function in North America and providing dedicated support to the CEO, Americas, and other senior leaders in North America. He also provided direct legal support for the firm’s strategic initiatives, including mergers and acquisitions activities, in North America.
Rick joined Cushman & Wakefield in 1998 as Counsel. Prior to his arrival at the firm, he served as Corporate Counsel at Kingsland Properties from 1995-1998, a diversified real estate services firm providing brokerage, finance, general construction, land development and property management services to the commercial and residential real estate markets in the Chicago area. Reporting directly to the President, he was responsible for all legal affairs of Kingsland’s network of companies and partnerships.
From 1989-1992, Rick served as an Officer in the United States Air Force, including a seven-month tour of duty with the 823d RED HORSE Civil Engineering Squadron, a combat engineering unit with 450 engineers, deployed to the Middle East during Operation Desert Shield/Desert Storm. Rick was one of 12 individuals selected in 1991 for education and training in the USAF JAG Corps.
- • Current Board Advisor, ARVA Intelligence
• Former Director, SEAL Family Foundation
• Former Chairman, Vice Chairman, Secretary, and Director, Volunteers of America Illinois
• Former Director, Community Contacts, Inc.
- Juris Doctor, DePaul University School of Law, Chicago
- Bachelor of Arts and Air Force ROTC Distinguished Graduate, Gordon College, Wenham, Massachusetts
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