Welcome Isabella Ferrozzo

Isabella (Izzy) Ferrozzo has been named a senior associate at Evoke Partners, a recently launched advisory and services firm whose expertise is at the intersection of where commercial real estate, energy and disruptive technology meet and can have a significant impact on cost savings and operational efficiencies.

The announcement was made by the firm’s founders, Ra’eesa Motala, SIOR, president, and Geoffrey Kasselman, SIOR, LEED AP, CEO. Ferrozzo will work with clients across the country and be based in Minneapolis.

As senior associate at Evoke Partners, Ferrozzo is responsible for delivering precise, innovative, and measurable solutions and outcomes for Evoke’s commercial real estate and related clients and projects. She also serves as the director of procurement for Op2mize Energy, an affiliated company that provides comprehensive energy procurement strategies and related services to property owners and space users. Her areas of focus include revenue and strategy development, customer acquisition and retention, product and pricing strategy, market analysis and forecasting, and compliance.

Before joining Evoke Partners, Ferrozzo was a commercial real estate broker with Hempel Real Estate in Minneapolis. As a broker, she was engaged with office, industrial and retail tenants and owners to provide solutions to their real estate needs. In the process, Ferrozzo made contributions delivering invaluable lease administration, analytical, problem solving, organizational management skills.

Ferrozzo is a graduate of the University of Minnesota where she earned a B.A. in political science with a minor in leadership.

Evoke Partners was formally launched last month to help ‘future-proof’ its clients and deliver exponential, ROI-driven results, drawing on the founders vast experiences in the most relevant and forward-looking innovation aspects and opportunities of the corporate occupier, commercial real estate development, and energy ecosystems.

The company has started with a well-formed critical mass: an established, active base of clients, early-stage development projects underway across the U.S., and significant investment positions in several notable or upcoming property technology or “PropTech” firms.

Evoke Partners’ multi-faceted forward-looking platform leverages established best practices in commercial real estate, energy, and disruptive technologies to deliver unprecedented services and results to its real estate and energy clients. In aggregate, the founders of Evoke Partners have completed more than 100 million square feet of client projects in 147 cities, 45 states and 14 countries. The financial consideration of those assignments totals more than $2.1 billion. Additionally, Op2mize Energy clients have realized total energy supply savings (in kWh and/or Therms) exceeding $15 million.

Evoke Partners Launch

Platform Launched to Future-Proof Real Estate and Deliver Exponential, Innovation-Driven Solutions

Firm Launched by Industry Stars Geoff Kasselman and Ra’eesa Motala Navigates Intersection of Commercial Real Estate, Energy and Digital Disruption

CHICAGO (October 20, 2023)—Two established, highly regarded national real estate professionals are launching Evoke Partners, a dynamic new platform of companies playing at the intersection of commercial real estate, energy, and digital disruption. The company is starting with critical mass:  an established, active base of clients, early-stage development projects underway across the US, and significant investment positions in several notable or upcoming property technology or “PropTech” firms. Evoke Partners is based in Chicago with an office in Minneapolis, and more locations to follow.

The founders of Evoke Partners are Ra’eesa Motala, SIOR, a fast-rising star with a national footprint in commercial real estate, and Geoffrey Kasselman, SIOR, LEED AP, an accomplished industry veteran and thought leader with decades of national large-scale experience as broker, advisor and developer. Motala is the firm’s President and Kasselman is its Chief Executive Officer.

Evoke Partners has been established to help ‘future-proof’ its clients and deliver exponential, ROI-driven results, drawing on their vast experiences in the most relevant and forward-looking innovation aspects and opportunities of the corporate occupier, commercial real estate development, and energy ecosystems.

“Occupiers today are operating in an environment where technology and energy considerations are rapidly evolving as they pertain to commercial real estate,” Kasselman said. “We’re leveraging our fundamental understanding of these dynamics and their profound implications to create custom solutions that position our clients, and ourselves, for long-term real estate and energy success.”

The comprehensive services offered by Evoke align with an increasingly important focus of Corporate America:  social consciousness and responsibility (known as environmental, social and governance or ESG). Further, the partnering of Motala and Kasselman underscores their personal commitment to Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI).

“With the Evoke Partners platform, companies will enhance their real estate utilization, reduce their energy spend while also achieving important sustainability goals, and position themselves to thrive in the face of increasingly disruptive technology,” said Motala.

Evoke Partners is starting with impressive depth and scale, including:

·       Five early-stage development projects with an aggregate value of more than $100 million in the Midwestern and Western US;

·       Dozens of active real estate clients and several hundred active energy clients;

·       Investment and involvement in several PropTech companies as well as the adoption of AI and Blockchain concepts to enhance project results and internal operations; and

·       Expansion plans that include the addition of construction and property management divisions.

“When a proven, highly respected and long-standing industry leader joins forces with a fast-rising national star, you know great things will happen. I have no doubt, these SIORs will excel on a multitude of levels,” said Robert Thornburgh, SIOR, CCIM, FRICS, CEO of Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).

Kasselman is also the Founder and CEO of Op2mize Energy.  He was the SIOR Global President in 2016-2017. He is a highly acclaimed ‘Business Futurist’ Keynote speaker and has won several notable awards and accolades.

Motala already has a long list of impressive local and national awards, accolades and distinctions as well. She is an accomplished national keynote speaker. Further, as a member of the Urban Land Institute (ULI), she sits on the ULI WLI America’s Executive Leadership Committee and is Chair of its Real Estate Diversity Initiative. Further, earlier this year she was a recipient of the NAIOP and Prologis Inclusion in CRE Scholarship and earned the coveted SIOR designation after meeting a series of stringent requirements.

In aggregate, the founders of Evoke Partners have completed more than 100 million square feet of client projects in 147 cities, 45 states and 14 countries. The financial consideration of those assignments totals more than $2.1 billion. Additionally, Op2mize Energy clients have realized total energy supply savings (in kWh and/or Therms) exceeding $15 million.

FOR MORE INFORMATION: Please contact Geoffrey Kasselman at 312-543-2900, Ra’eesa Motala at 651-890-9919