After the July shutdown of Eastern Consolidated, Mark Schnurman has landed at commercial mortgage brokerage Eastern Union.
Schnurman started as the firm’s first chief sales and operating officer, Commercial Observer reported. He will manage day-to-day sales operations and a team of roughly 150 people.
Eastern Union’s president, Ira Zlotowitz, told the Observer he was looking to boost the “people” side of the brokerage. And hiring Schnurman frees him up to work on other initiatives such as training programs for brokers.
Eastern Consolidated co-founders Daun Paris and Peter Hauspurg hired Schnurman in 2013 to lead a revamped investment sales team and retail operation at Eastern Consolidated. The capital markets advisory division he launched placed was among the 10 biggest shops in the city, and its retail leasing operation among the city’s most robust. Schnurman’s hires generated the bulk of revenue at Eastern, but a number of brokers told The Real Deal in July that the new strategy, which involved taming a cowboy culture, sparked tensions at the firm.
The brokerage, struggling with high fixed operational costs, high commission payouts, and — like most of the industry — a downturn in investment sales, shut down in July. Paris and Hauspurg recently landed at ABS Partners, where they will be sourcing deals. [CO] — Meenal Vamburkar