Jeffrey D. Cristal is executive managing director of Newmark. Prior to the acquisition by Newmark, Mr. Cristal was senior vice president and director of the office group of Grubb & Ellis (predecessor company to Newmark) for 26 years. Mr. Cristal specializes in advisory services, focusing on the leasing and sales of office properties including tenant advocacy, corporate representation and strategic real estate planning. As an advocate, his goal is to optimize his clients’ total occupancy costs via analysis and evaluation of all facets of their real estate portfolios and specific transactions.
Mr. Cristal was consistently named to the Circle of Excellence of Grubb & Ellis, a designation reserved for the top professionals across the country. He earned the title of senior marketing consultant, Grubb & Ellis’ highest recognition for leadership in commercial brokerage. In 1992, Mr. Cristal earned the international designation of the SIOR (Society of Industrial and Office Realtors) by exceeding certain production requirements and excelling in rigorous testing standards set by that highly-esteemed organization.
Mr. Cristal began his career as leasing coordinator for Barris-Guren Company and became an office specialist from 1983 to 1986 for Adler Galvin Rodgers, Inc. (predecessor company to Grubb & Ellis).
Mr. Cristal has been involved in real estate transactions for a range of local and national companies. Among the organizations he has represented are:
- Rockwell
- Dominion
- Marcus Thomas
- Babcock & Wilcox
- Spieth Bell McCurdy & Newell
- IBM
- Kraft
- Lubrizol
- MetLife
- Budish & Solomon
- Progressive
- OE Connection
- SageQuest
An active industry and community leader, Mr. Cristal’s roster of memberships and honors include:
- Member of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR)
- Past President, Board of Trustees of the Northern Ohio Chapter of NAIOP
- Member of Cleveland Area Board of Realtors (CABOR).
- Member of University Hospitals Neurological Institute Leadership Council
- Board Member of Urban Squash Cleveland
- Board Member of Friends of Breakthrough Charter Schools
- Member of the Real Estate Committee for Breakthrough Charter Schools
- Former President of the Board of the American Cancer Society - Cuyahoga County Unit
- Member of Playhouse Square Foundation Marketing Committee
- Leadership Cleveland - Class of 1996
- Honored as Office Broker of the Year in 1990 and 2008 by NAIOP
- Honored in 1998 as initial recipient of Commercial Realtor of the Year by CABOR
Education
Mr. Cristal earned a bachelor’s degree in business administration and marketing from Butler University.