Suburban notes of congratulations

Find out what your colleagues and competitors are doing around the suburbs.

• Oakbrook Terrace-based NAI Hiffman has promoted Adam Johnson, David Haigh, SIOR, and Jason Wurtz from senior vice president to executive vice president. The three have also been named as the newest shareholders of the firm.

Joining the firm in 2008, Johnson has primarily focused his efforts in the I-88 and I-55 Corridor submarkets selling and leasing office space. He began his career in the industry with Real Estate Consultants. Primarily representing property owners, Johnson has made a name for himself with over 350 transactions totaling nearly 3 million square feet.

Haigh started his career in commercial real estate 13 years ago when he joined NAI Hiffman's Industrial Services group. His main focus is on warehousing and manufacturing properties in DuPage County and the western suburbs of Chicago. Haigh's real estate career boasts significant redevelopment construction projects in Central DuPage. Prior to beginning his real estate career in 2005, Haigh was an enlisted member of the Illinois Army National Guard.

Working in Chicago's north and northwest submarkets, Wurtz mainly represents office property owners such as RMR Group, KBS, CBRE Global Investors, Bentall Kennedy and Guardian Life Insurance. According to David Petersen, CEO of NAI Hiffman, With Wurtz's talents in commercial real estate, he has made more than a few significant transactions with global organizations.

• Engineering Enterprises, Inc. in Sugar Grove announced the addition of Jake Seger and Michael Curtis to the firm.

Seger, CFM, has joined as a project engineer. He is a resident of Sugar Grove and a graduate of Bradley University with a Bachelor of Science in Civil Engineering. Seger has extensive IDOT training and certifications that will add to the firm's construction engineering capabilities. In addition, he is also a Certified Floodplain Manager from the Illinois Association for Floodplain and Stormwater Management Association of State Floodplain Managers.

Curtis has joined as a field technician. He is a resident of Hinckley and will be assisting with a wide variety of construction inspection projects. Curtis brings a variety of construction experience to the firm.

• Joe Tilson, co-chair of Cozen O'Connor's Labor and Employment Department, has been elected chair of the American Bar Association's Section on Labor and Employment Law, one of the ABA's largest and most active sections. Tilson's new position, announced at the ABA's annual meeting in Chicago, is effective immediately. He will continue to serve on the ABA's Council, the governing body of the ABA's Labor & Employment Section. In his role as co-chair of the firm's Labor and Employment Department, Tilson has been instrumental to the growth of the practice, which has doubled in size to 76 attorneys since 2015. His practice entails representing employers in large scale employment litigation and labor arbitrations. In the past 35 years, Tilson has tried more than 150 jury and nonjury cases before a full range of courts, administrative agencies and labor arbitrators.

• GK Development Inc., a Barrington-based commercial real estate company that acquires, develops, owns and operates a diversified portfolio of commercial and retail property across the U.S., welcomes Colin Hartzell to its team as the vice president of financial planning and control. With more than 14 years of experience in the corporate finance and accounting fields, his business acumen includes systems analysis, fiscal operations, project management, financial analysis, resource management and market analysis. Prior to joining GK Development, the seasoned financial executive served as the vice president of planning and analysis for a Chicago-based real estate company. During his time there, Hartzell was recognized repeatedly for his top performance and spearheaded a new organization-wide data analytics team, including recruiting of team members and definition of roles, processes and procedures. He earned his bachelor's degree in accounting from Valparaiso University in Indiana.

• Principle Construction Corp. in Rosemont announced the hiring of Phil VanDuyne as director of pre-construction services. VanDuyne will be responsible for estimating project costs, managing planning processes, drafting and reviewing contractual documents, coordinating with management, design and construction professionals, and providing budgets and schedules for the team. Most recently, VanDuyne was a capital project consultant and owner's representative for Simpson Strong-Tie in West Chicago. . Prior to that, he was a partner at Itasca Construction Associates, Inc., where he was employed from 1984 to 2015. VanDuyne earned a bachelor's degree in civil engineering from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign in 1983.

• Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp. announced Raymond Bravo joined the company as senior vice president of residential lending. Bravo now heads a newly opened branch for the national lender in Palos Park. A mortgage originator for 38 years, Bravo has originated a career total of more than $1 billion in home loans to assist his clients in purchasing or refinancing their homes. Prior to joining Downers Grove-based Draper and Kramer Mortgage Corp., he was a branch manager for another Chicagoland lender.

• Millennium Properties R/E, a boutique property management and brokerage company in Chicago, recently hired Vince Pine as a vice president and member of its commercial brokerage team. Previously, Pine worked as an attorney focused on all aspects of commercial real estate including assisting in the leasing, acquisition and sale of over $1 billion of transactions. His clients ranged from large, multinational private equity firms to REITs to individual investors. Pine is also an Associate Board Member for the Harold E. Eisenberg Foundation.

The Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce board of directors announced the appointment of Miriam Iwrey as CEO. Iwrey brings both business development and nonprofit management experience to her new position. Prior to joining the Carol Stream Chamber of Commerce, she was responsible for business development in the village of Woodridge for Chamber630. With more than 10 years of experience working in the nonprofit sector, she will be responsible for growing the chamber membership as well as creating strong partnerships and collaborations within the business community and local community of the Village of Carol Stream and neighboring communities.