Companies: Trammell Crow looks to new leader

JUD JACOBS GETS TOP HEALTHCARE JOB; KEVIN O’NEIL RETURNS TO PAST ROLE

By Murray W. Wolf

Kevin O’Neil

Judson “Jud” Jacobs

Trammell Crow Co.’s healthcare real estate business has grown from six clients in mid-2002 to more than 50 today, including a reported 124 percent increase in dollar volume in 2008, to more than $651 million. With more than 2 million square feet of space under development last year, the firm ranked as one of nation’s largest healthcare real estate developers.

So why would the Dallas-based company mess with success by shuffling the leadership of its healthcare unit?

The two men directly affected by the change say the move enables one of them to take on a timely new challenge, while the other is getting the opportunity to move up to the top job at the healthcare group where he has already worked for several years.

Kevin O’Neil, who has headed Trammell Crow’s healthcare team since its inception, recently joined the Global Corporate Service (GCS) group of CB Richard Ellis Inc. (NYSE: CBG) , the firm that acquired Trammell Crow in 2006.

That created an opportunity for Judson “Jud” Jacobs, who has worked with Mr. O’Neil on healthcare projects since even before the unit was formally created, to step up to the top job.