Ryan Companies US, Inc. has promoted Jim McDonald to president of the Great Lakes Region. He most recently served as senior vice president, market leader of the region. Tim Hennelly, past president of the Great Lakes Region, has elected to rejoin the development team to focus on new business and mentorship while McDonald will provide overall strategic vision and operational leadership for the region.
“Jim has done an outstanding job for more than two decades at Ryan, building trusted relationships with our healthcare, industrial, senior living, office, multifamily and mixed-use clients, as well as with his colleagues and the teams he leads,” said Jeff Smith, president of Ryan Companies. “Our revenues in the Great Lakes Region have more than tripled over the past five years, thanks in large part to the leadership of Tim and Jim. With Tim returning to his passion of pursing real estate development deals, and Jim leveraging his ability to foster a collaborative culture amongst our real estate development teams, Ryan is well-positioned for continued growth in the Great Lakes Region.”
McDonald joined Ryan Companies in 1999, shortly after receiving his bachelor’s degree in construction management from the University of Nebraska. He spent his first decade with Ryan on the construction side and then migrated to Ryan’s development arm, leading high-profile projects across real estate sectors and rising to senior vice president of real estate development and market leader of the Great Lakes Region before assuming his current role.
In 2012, McDonald opened and managed Ryan’s Milwaukee office where he grew Ryan’s healthcare business with clients such as Froedtert Health and Children’s Hospital of Wisconsin. Working from Ryan’s suburban Chicago office since 2000, McDonald has continued to expand the firm’s healthcare, senior living and industrial build-to-suit business throughout the region.
“It’s an honor to lead the Great Lakes Region for Ryan, a firm that I’ve seen grow tremendously over the past two decades yet still retain its entrepreneurial spirit,” said McDonald. “Ryan invests in its employees and creates myriad opportunities for career development across our integrated real estate services platform. I’m eager to continue supporting our exceptional teams to help them deliver the innovative solutions and personal service that showcase Ryan’s value for our customers, from project conception to completion.”
Some of McDonald’s near-term goals for the Great Lakes Region include opening a downtown Chicago office in the coming months, doubling the region’s revenue over the next five years, expanding into new geographic areas and recruiting diverse talent in development, construction, architecture and engineering, capital markets and real estate management.
