Russell Heads Southwest Region for Grubb & Ellis

John G. Russell, a senior executive with Grubb & Ellis Co. for the past 15 years, has been named president of the firm’s newly formed Pacific Southwest Region.

With Russell’s appointment, the San Francisco-based company also announced plans to acquire a residential brokerage company in the Los Angeles basin, one of the few areas in Southern California where it has no residential offices.

Grubb & Ellis, one of the nation’s largest independent real estate services firms, has added new offices to both its commercial and residential brokerage operations in Southern California during the past year through the acquisition of existing firms and the opening of new offices.

Russell previously was vice president and district manager of the Phoenix commercial brokerage office of Grubb & Ellis. Now he will oversee all of the company’s real estate services in Southern California, Arizona, Nevada and Hawaii.