Patrick Gallagher is leaving the Milwaukee real estate brokerage firm he started in 1995, Siegel-Gallagher, on Friday to join competitor CBRE as an investment broker.
Gallagher sold the firm to the three remaining principals, John Dulmes, Marianne Burish and Daniel Walsh who have had primary responsibility for day-to-day operations and will continue to lead the brokerage.
“The move to CBRE will allow Patrick to focus his talents, specifically on high-end investment properties – the area in which he has the most experience, expertise and passion,” according to a statement from Siegel-Gallagher. “This is a natural progression for Patrick, as CBRE provides one of the world’s largest platforms for major investment properties.”
For now, the Siegel-Gallagher name will remain intact. Moving forward the name could be changed, according to a spokesman for the firm.
Siegel-Gallagher was in talks for more than a year to merge with The Boerke Company, but those talks ended last month, according to several sources.
Recently, several of Siegel-Gallagher’s brokers have left the firm:
- Matson Holbrook, former vice president of the investment properties group, launched MBH Investment Real Estate in March.
- Cory Sovine and Bill Quinlivan went to Colliers International|Wisconsin.
- John Kuhn went to The Boerke Company.
- Matt Chappell went to Mid-America Real Estate.
Siegel-Gallagher also owns a management company. Gallagher will remain an investor in the management company, which has been run by David Behnke, president, and John Matheson, chief operating officer, for 17 years.
Behnke and Matheson have been in talks with Milwaukee-area brokerage firms about merging, according to several real estate sources.
“The management company is always looking for opportunities to grow the business,” Siegel-Gallagher spokesman Michael Pflughoeft said. “We are looking at ways to explore working with others, but at this point there is nothing to talk about.”
Siegel-Gallagher was formed in 1995 by Jeffrey Siegel and Patrick Gallagher. Siegel died in 2002, of abdominal cancer at the age of 47.
