Mark Grinis leads Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction arm of EY
Big Four consultancy EY has appointed company veteran Mark Grinis to the role of Global Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction Leader. Grinis moves to the position following the planned retirement of his predecessor Howard Roth, with the appointee taking responsibility for the coordination of the segment’s personnel of over 15,000.
Mark Grinis has been with EY since 1995, following ten years as an Auditor at Kenneth Leventhal & Co, and throughout his career he has served as lead advisor on more than $50 billion of transactions, as well as in his capacity as an audit partner for real estate funds, taking the total aggregate value of dealings he was involved in to $250 billion. He has held various high-level positions at the firm over his more than 20-year tenure, including the US Central region Real Estate leader, and Global Real Estate Private Equity practice lead, having also held leadership positions across the firm’s footprint in the Americas and Japan.
Grinnis, who completed a Bachelor of Arts in Economics from Claremont McKenna College, is also a member of the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants.
As the new Leader of EY’s Global Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction arm, Grinnis will take the reins of a global team of more than 15,000 real estate professionals, while being tasked with overseeing and coordinating the firm’s network in the area – which includes serving more than 6,000 clients across the globe – at a time when EY finds itself in demand, as the global constructing sector struggles to deal with the complexity arising from new technologies. The appointment is the enactment of the firm’s succession planning, following the retirement of Howard Roth, who has been with the firm since 1985 and retires at the end of the month.
Commenting on the appointment, Roth said, “Mark is a highly skilled and respected professional in our industry. I have worked closely with him for many years. His knowledge, experience and credibility is based on major international transactions and capital flows, and he has the creativity to work with companies on their digital, cyber and technology priorities, making him an ideal fit to lead EY Global Real Estate, Hospitality & Construction.”
Grinis added, “The pace of technological growth, shifting regulatory environments and constant changes in the global economy make for an exciting and challenging time to be in real estate. I’m honored to have this opportunity and look forward to leveraging our global network’s deep technical experience and talent for the benefit of our clients.”