Commonwealth real estate firm selects longtime exec as new CEO

Glen Allen-based real estate company Commonwealth, which recently rebranded from Commonwealth Commercial Partners, has a new CEO to go with its new name.

The company announced Monday that longtime executive Ken Strickler now leads the company as president and CEO following the May 26 retirement of founder and former CEO Mark Claud. Claud’s retirement comes on the heels of CCP’s rebranding to Commonwealth in April, a move meant to reinvigorate its brand identity and unite all its lines of service into a single integrated platform.

“I’m very honored to continue the company’s evolution as an innovative, industry-leading firm in the dynamic commercial real estate market,” Strickler said in a statement. “Also, it’s very humbling to step into Mark Claud’s very big shoes. He founded the company on a unique vision of providing an entrepreneurial, boutique-style approach that has been instrumental to our success.”

Strickler has been president since 2016. He joined CCP in 2005 as an assistant property manager and later became the director of asset management and investments in 2008. He has a bachelor’s degree in mathematical economics from Hampden-Sydney College.

Founded in 1996, Commonwealth now has more than 225 employees and operates in 15 states, managing more than 24 million square feet of real estate. The company’s services include property management, sales and leasing, asset management, project management, lodging management, investments, as well as land, farm and forestry advisory work.

“Over the past 30 years, I’ve been most proud of the outstanding group of people who work here and their extraordinary attention to detail on behalf of our clients, each and every day,” Claud said in a statement. “I look forward to watching Ken lead the company into an exciting new chapter as Commonwealth continues to make an enduring impact with our employees, clients and partners.”