U.S. Equities Asset Management LLC has announced Drew Nieman will join its Chicago-based commercial real estate firm as an executive vice president. The well-respected real estate broker’s primary focus will be downtown office building leasing opportunities, working closely with senior leadership to serve clients in the Chicago region and beyond.
“We are very enthusiastic about merging Drew’s skills and expertise with our company’s extensive experience leasing, managing and developing commercial real estate,” said Robert Wislow, chairman of U.S. Equities. “Drew’s impressive office leasing track record, one of the strongest in commercial real estate today, will continue to drive the momentum of our firm.”
Nieman’s career in real estate began in Chicago in 1983 at The John Buck Company, leading the firm’s leasing group as principal and overseeing more than 6.5 million square feet in office transactions. In 2009, he relocated to Abu Dhabi, UAE, for a two-year assignment with John Buck International, serving as executive director of leasing for 2 million square feet of office space in Abu Dhabi’s new financial center. Since returning from the Middle East, Nieman headed Colliers International’s downtown Chicago leasing practice. In two years, he built a portfolio of more than 4.4 million square feet of existing and “to-be-built” buildings.
With nearly three decades of industry experience, Nieman has overseen significant leasing and repositioning efforts in downtown office buildings. Nieman managed the Leo Burnett and Winston & Strawn renewals at 35 W. Wacker, Boeing’s relocation from Seattle to Chicago’s 100 N. Riverside, and the releasing of Sears Tower (now Willis Tower) when Sears vacated its 2 million square feet. Additionally, over the last 11 years, Nieman played a key role leasing three of the newest office towers on Wacker Drive, which totaled more than 3.3 million square feet.
“What is most exciting about joining U.S. Equities is the unique combination of its impressive and diverse portfolio in downtown Chicago, and the high-end boutique type, hands-on relationships it maintains with both its clients and tenants,” Nieman said. “I’m especially attracted to the firm’s focus on all aspects of commercial real estate and deep roots in Chicago’s civic community, as well as its successful signing of more than 4 million square feet of office leasing in the last five years in this very challenging economic environment.”
Nieman is a three-time winner of the Downtown Chicago Office Broker of the Year award. Nieman holds a dual bachelor’s degree in environmental design and urban and regional planning from Miami University in Oxford, Ohio. He has been a board member of the Chicago City Day School for more than 20 years.
