Colliers Fires CEO of Service Division on Charges of Improper Securities Trading

Colliers International terminated Dylan Taylor as chief executive officer of its real estate services division late on Thursday, with the NASDAQ-listed real estate services firm accusing the ten year company veteran of improper trading activity in Colliers securities as grounds for the dismissal.

The firing was announced by the Toronto-based firm less than six months after Taylor took over the top post with the company’s service division on January 1, after serving as the group’s president since 2015, and its global chief operating officer since 2014.

Colliers acknowledged in its announcement that Taylor has made allegations to support a constructive dismissal claim against the company, but indicated that its management and board of directors did not consider this claim to be valid. Inquiries from Mingtiandi to Dylan Taylor remained unanswered at the time of publication.

Executives Quick to Find an Exit

Colliers, which was bought out by self-made property management tycoon Jay Hennick in 2004, has had previous experience with senior management leaving the company abruptly.

Then-CEO Doug Frye resigned in June 2015 just weeks after Colliers International was spun off from Hennick’s First Service as an independent, listed company. Frye has since gone on to philanthropic pursuits.

Taylor’s dismissal for cause allows Hennick and Colliers to avoid paying $2 million in compensation that would have been due had the executive been terminated without cause.

No More CEO

Following the change in senior leadership, Colliers plans to eliminate the CEO role, with Hennick set to assume some of Taylor’s duties and chief financial officer John Friedrichsen also taking on some responsibilities from the former chief executive position. All regional and business line leaders in the 68 countries where Colliers now operates will report directly to Hennick.

Taylor had originally joined Colliers in 2009 from Newmark Knight Frank, and also had previous experience at Jones Lang LaSalle. The MBA graduate of the University of Chicago started at Colliers as chief executive for the Americas and held that post for five years before being named global chief operating officer in 2014 and adding the title of president in 2015, at the time that Frye departed.