Cross Street, a Chicago-based residential real estate firm, added three senior leaders as the company continues to expand its national platform.
Will Shew has joined the firm as vice president of property management; Karen Gaski has been named vice president of people and culture; and Drew Malter has joined as director of data and systems.
The appointments come as Cross Street continues to scale its operations in Chicago, Denver and Cleveland while expanding its recently launched property management platform following the incorporation of Peak Properties into the company’s national business earlier this year. The addition of Peak’s more than 9,000 units under management has expanded Cross Street’s leasing and management portfolio to nearly 12,000 apartments, strengthening the firm’s ability to provide integrated multifamily services.
As vice president of property management, Shew will oversee the strategic and operational direction of Cross Street’s property management platform, ensuring consistency, performance and alignment across all markets by leaning into Cross Street’s vision of efficiency through a centralized model that supports a hospitality-driven community approach. A CAM-certified property management professional and active member of the Chicagoland Apartment Association, Shew brings extensive experience leading large-scale operations and building high-performing teams. Before joining Cross Street, he served as regional vice president of operations at RPM Living.
In her role as vice president of people and culture, Gaski will lead Cross Street’s people strategy and all human resources functions, including talent acquisition, employee experience, leadership development, total rewards, organizational effectiveness, culture initiatives and HR operations. She brings more than 15 years of progressive human resources experience to Cross Street and a proven track record of building high-performing teams and fostering workplace cultures that support business growth. Prior to joining Cross Street, Gaski held HR leadership roles at companies including Rush Street Interactive and CareerBuilder.
Malter joins Cross Street as director of data and systems, supporting teams across all markets and business lines. He brings more than nine years of professional experience in data science, business intelligence and technology consulting, including four years at a workforce management software startup. Throughout his career, Malter has worked across business intelligence reporting and the implementation of artificial intelligence and machine-learning tools for both clients and internal teams.
