Jones Lang LaSalle Names Bill Thummel Americas COO (USA)

Jones Lang LaSalle Incorporated (NYSE:JLL) announced yesterday that William (Bill) Thummel has been appointed Chief Operating Officer for the Americas region effective April 15.

Relying on his extensive client relationship experience, Mr. Thummel will be responsible for ensuring that client-focused operational excellence is reflected in all aspects of the firm's Americas business. Mr. Thummel will also continue to be accountable for service delivery on two of the firm's key client assignments - Procter & Gamble and HSBC. He will be located in the Chicago headquarters office and will report directly to Peter Roberts, Chief Executive Officer of the Americas, and also to Lauralee Martin, the firm's global Chief Operating and Financial Officer.

"We've taken a creative look at the traditional COO role and have re-oriented it to drive greater value for our clients, our employees and our shareholders," said Mr. Roberts. "As COO, Bill will draw on his broad experience working closely with some of the firm's largest clients to bring an external point of view to the job of managing the infrastructure. I am confident that his leadership will propel our already strong infrastructure teams to deliver unparalleled levels of service and excellence."

"Additionally, Bill has experience applying the Six Sigma discipline to process improvement and will champion the effort to improve processes throughout the firm utilizing this proven and respected tool," added Mr. Roberts.

The Americas region, which comprises the United States, Canada and Latin America, generated revenues of $371.2 million in 2004. Jones Lang LaSalle employs 3,300 professional staff and 3,400 on-site maintenance staff, and manages 387 million square feet of property in the region.

"Bill has demonstrated an unwavering commitment to providing client service of the highest caliber to Procter & Gamble," commented William Reeves, Director of Employee and Workplace Services for Procter & Gamble. "His appointment as COO for Jones Lang LaSalle is great news because he will now be in a broad leadership position where he can develop innovative solutions that are good for Procter & Gamble and clients like us."

In addition to his client responsibilities, Mr. Thummel will oversee the finance, legal, office services, technology, and engineering and operations functional groups, as well as the Canadian and Latin American businesses. He will share responsibility for human resources with Mr. Roberts. He will be a member of the Americas Management Executive Committee, the region's senior leadership body, and the Diversity Council.

"Our operational groups are key to delivering high-quality services on a consistent basis," said Mr. Thummel. "Through my great experiences working with clients and client relationship managers, I've developed an appreciation for how the firm's infrastructure enables our ability to support our clients. I intend to operationalize the voice of the client in my new role."

Mr. Thummel's experience working with real estate investors and occupiers spans his 17-year career at Jones Lang LaSalle. Most recently, he was Global Account Executive for the Procter & Gamble assignment and Oversight Executive for HSBC, the two clients with which he will continue to be involved. Previously, he held the position of COO for the Americas Corporate Solutions business, which encompasses all of the services the firm provides to real estate occupiers. In addition, he was CEO for the firm's South American business. He also held the COO role in the Americas Corporate Property Services group and served as a group manager in Boston and Los Angeles.

Born in Texas, Mr. Thummel is fluent in Spanish. He holds a master's degree in business administration from the William E. Simon School of Management at University of Rochester and a bachelor of science degree from the University of Texas at El Paso. He has lived in various parts of the United States and Mexico, including Boston, Chicago, Los Angeles and Rochester, New York.

Source: Jones Lang LaSalle

Related News