Alistair Elliott has been elected as Knight Frank’s Senior Partner and Group Chairman. He will assume his position in April 2013 when Nick Thomlinson, the current Senior Partner and Group Chairman, retires from the firm.
Elliott, 50, started on the graduate scheme at Knight Frank in 1983, and was made a Salaried Partner in 1989, Proprietary Partner in 1995, and has been head of the Commercial Division of Knight Frank since 2006. Throughout his career he has concentrated on Office Agency and Development.
Nick Thomlinson, who started at Knight Frank in the graduate scheme in 1974, has been Senior Partner since 2004. Having started his career in London, he moved to Hong Kong in 1984 to head up Knight Frank’s operations before returning to open the first agency office in London’s Docklands two years later. In 1995, he set up the firm’s Indian operation in Mumbai, making it one of the first international firms of chartered surveyors to open in India, which now has 800 staff in seven offices. He became head of Global Residential in 2000.
John Snow will succeed Elliott as head of the UK Commercial Division. Snow joined Knight Frank’s West End Office Agency team in 1980, was appointed Head of Department in 1992 and subsequently took on the role of Head of Central London Offices in 1999. Alongside his market facing role, in 2000, Snow also took on responsibility for Knight Frank’s Expansion in North America – currently managing their relationship with Newmark Grubb Knight Frank.
Nick Thomlinson said: “I have been privileged to lead one of the world’s great property firms and have thoroughly enjoyed doing so. My tenure has seen the market swing between several extremes and it has certainly never been dull. Knight Frank has now expanded to become a truly global business, and is a market leader in both residential and commercial and I am proud to say firmly independent.
“I strongly believe that Alistair is just the man to take the firm to the next stage of growth. He has been a tremendous representative of Knight Frank since his first day at the firm. I leave the partnership in very capable hands.”
Alistair Elliott commented: “Having seen so much change over the past 30 years, I am honoured to be given the opportunity to take on the role of Senior Partner. Whilst the economy will undoubtedly throw up demanding market conditions in the short to medium term, the Knight Frank business is in great shape to tackle the challenges that lie ahead.
“I have huge confidence in our teams in the UK and globally and I very much look forward to working with them in developing their plans. Our brand is, to my mind, one of the strongest in the sector, not least because of our supremacy in the residential markets, and I intend to develop this strength aggressively while maintaining its integrity.
“Nick, who steps down in April, has been an enormous asset for the firm and I do not underestimate the size of the shoes I have to fill. Nick takes great credit for steering the business through the recent downturn.
John Snow said: “Alistair has done a truly fantastic job over the past six years guiding us confidently through the best and worst markets of recent times; he will be a difficult act to follow. There is, however, great potential to further grow our Commercial Division by exploiting our Residential businesses’ unique access to global wealth together with the market leading residential development team. This is in addition to taking full advantage of our rapidly expanding global platform, which gives our UK commercial clients informed access to both international investors and corporates.
“We are extremely fortunate in having some of the best people in the industry who are attracted by the collegiate working environment and the opportunity to work for the largest independent firm in the global real estate advisory sector. Our unique position in the market place undoubtedly resonates with clients and it is an extremely exciting time to take the reins as head of Knight Frank’s Commercial Division.”