Edward C. Forst, a former co-head of Goldman Sachs’s investment management division who twice stepped down from top roles at the company, has agreed to join Cushman & Wakefield, the commercial real estate giant, as its president and chief executive.
Mr. Forst will take over at Cushman on Jan. 6, ending the firm’s six-month search for a new top executive. Carlo Barel di Sant’Albano, Cushman’s chairman, has been acting as interim chief since Glenn Rufrano stepped down in June.
“We very clearly came to the conclusion that he would be absolutely and enthusiastically the right leader for the firm going forward,†Mr. Sant’Albano said by phone.
Mr. Forst joined Goldman in 1994 and later became a rising star within the company. He was at one point a member of the firm’s influential management committee and a confidant of Lloyd C. Blankfein, Goldman’s chief executive. Mr. Forst was appointed chief administrative officer in 2004, a role that led him to oversee Goldman’s real estate activities, including the leasing agreement for the firm’s 43-story, $2.4 billion headquarters in Battery Park City.
Mr. Sant’Albano said it was Mr. Forst’s management experience running several of the firm’s important businesses that appealed greatly to the board. Cushman, a commercial real estate services firm whose majority owner is Exor of Italy, offers consulting, leasing, valuation and other services to clients worldwide.
“What I believe he brings to the table goes beyond real estate,†Mr. Sant’Albano said. “I think what he brings is tremendous leadership qualities.â€
That same leadership created friction among some of Mr. Forst’s colleagues, and he left the firm in 2008 to take a senior post at Harvard. It was there that he briefly served as an adviser to Henry M. Paulson Jr., the former Treasury secretary and another former Goldman chief.
Mr. Sant’Albano dismissed news reports of Mr. Forst’s internal friction as overblown.
Mr. Forst surprised some Goldman insiders when he returned to the firm a year later, becoming its senior strategy officer. He later became co-head of asset management before leaving the company in 2011. Most recently, Mr. Forst served as an adviser to Fenway Partners, a private equity firm based in New York.
“Ed has been a valuable adviser and contributor to our firm and we look forward to a continuing relationship. We wish him all the best in this new role,†a Fenway spokeswoman said in an email.
