SOM proudly announces the elevation of Ryan Culligan to Partner. A leader in the Austin and Chicago studios, he helped re-establish SOM’s flourishing practice in Texas, leading several high-impact design commissions including one of the largest ground-up academic medical centers in the country. For the last decade, he’s led the Chicago studio designing 400 Lake Shore Drive, Concourse D at O’Hare International Airport, and large-scale developments in Austin, Atlanta, Nashville, and Bangkok.

Moody Bank proudly welcomes Danielle Parkes to the Energy Corridor Banking Center as Vice President and Commercial Banking Officer. With 18+ years in commercial banking, Danielle brings deep expertise across equipment and construction financing, working capital optimization, commercial and industrial lending, real estate transactions, and partner buy-outs. She treats every client as her most important, building trust through authenticity, transparency, and responsiveness.

Serving clients throughout Houston and surrounding areas, Danielle goes wherever she’s needed, embodying dedication and flexibility in every relationship.

Passionate about community development, she supports Economic Alliance Houston Port Region and CREW Network (Commercial Real Estate Women), and has volunteered with Kids Meals, Bay Area Turning Point, and LIFE Houston.

Outside the office, she prioritizes family and embraces growth through reading, fitness, and nutrition—living each day with purpose and intention.

Liz Friedman has joined Gensler as a Senior Interior Designer, bringing 26 years of experience in workplace design across multiple sectors. Known for her curiosity and commitment to sustainability, Liz has led numerous LEED-registered projects. Her global portfolio includes developing workplace standards that balance consistency with regional character.

Cam Ayles has joined the Houston office of CBRE as a vice president, becoming the newest member of a growing team known for its finance-driven approach to occupier leasing and corporate portfolio advisory.

Ayles joins CBRE from Newmark, where he served as an associate specializing in tenant representation and corporate advisory services. Prior to that, he spent two years as an analyst at Brookfield Properties, where he developed a unique technical skillset and understanding of how landlords manage assets and underwrite tenancy.

Recognized as one of Houston’s rising stars in commercial real estate, Cam has represented high-profile clients across various sectors and geographies, establishing a strong track record of fulfilling multifaceted real estate requirements. In just over two years at Newmark, Cam advised clients on lease transactions covering roughly 250,000 square feet, the most notable of which was the North American headquarters for a global renewable energy company, one of the largest direct deals in Houston’s Central Business District in 2024.

Pfluger Architects, a Texas-based education architecture firm, welcomes Certified Public Accountant Lisa Fitze as the firm’s Director of Finance, Senior Associate. With extensive experience across multiple industries including commercial real estate, transportation and infrastructure, Fitze will lead the firm’s financial strategy and oversee its financedepartment. A graduate of the University of Texas at Austin, McCombs School of Business, she is recognized as a strong leader and team builder with expertise in both high-growth start-ups and mature global organizations. Most recently, she served as Director of Finance for Loram Technologies, Inc. in Georgetown. Fitze will be based in Pfluger’s Austin office and oversee financial strategy for firmwide operations across five Texas locations.

 JLL Capital Markets expanded its Texas Industrial Investment Sales and Advisory team with the strategic relocation of Senior Director Witt Westbrook to Dallas and the addition of Rob Ellwood as Director in the Austin office.

Both Ellwood and Westbrook will be part of JLL’s National Capital Markets Industrial group, led by Senior Managing Directors Trent Agnew and John Huguenard.

Senior Director Witt Westbrook will relocate from Austin to Dallas by year-end to strengthen JLL’s presence in the Dallas-Fort Worth industrial market. He will continue to provide support to Central Texas, where Rob Ellwood and Kyle Mueller will cover the region. Westbrook joined the firm’s Austin office in May 2024, where he has been advising industrial clients on dispositions, acquisitions and equity raises while remaining active on land transactions. He brings eight years of combined real estate experience, having closed over $1.5 billion in transactional volume.

Westbrook was recognized as the Austin Business Journal’s “Heavy Hitter” for building sales in 2024, leading the market with four deals totaling 2.3 million square feet of property sold. Working alongside Senior Managing Director Trent Agnew and the broader Central Texas team, his notable transactions included the sale of the 1.4-million-square-foot Kyle 35 Logistics Park, one of the largest Class A industrial trades in Central Texas market history.

Rob Ellwood joins JLL as Director, bringing specialized knowledge and experience in the industrial real estate sector along the Central Texas trade corridor. Prior to JLL, Ellwood worked at Transwestern, focusing on industrial leasing across the Austin, San Antonio and Laredo markets, with additional buyer representation experience.

A native Spanish speaker born in Monterrey, Mexico, and raised in San Antonio, Ellwood brings valuable bilingual capabilities alongside previous experience on the principal side of business in Mexico. This background positions him as an immediate asset in helping cover the growing border market regions of Laredo, El Paso and the Rio Grande Valley. He holds a bachelor’s degree in Spanish International Trade and Economics from Auburn University.

Since 2021, the Texas Industrial team has completed $13.6 billion in industrial sales, totaling over 120 million square feet. The expanded team now includes Senior Managing Director Trent Agnew (Houston), Managing Director Charles Strauss (Houston), Senior Directors Tom Weber (Dallas), Kyle Mueller (San Antonio) and Witt Westbrook (Dallas), along with Directors Rob Ellwood (Austin), Pauli Kerr (Dallas) and Lance Young (Houston).