Cresa, a Boston-based tenant representation firm, today announced that Jim Leslie has been named the firm’s next CEO, succeeding Bill Goade, the firm’s founder and current CEO.

 "We are extremely fortunate to have Jim as our next CEO," said Goade, who founded the firm in 1993 and has served as chairman or CEO since its inception. "His experience, leadership, management skills and deep understanding of our organization will be instrumental as Cresa seeks to leverage its recent dramatic growth."

Leslie was formerly president and chief operating officer of Staubach Co., a tenant representation firm acquired by Jones Lang Lasalle in 2008. During his tenure at Staubach, the company grew in excess of 35 percent a year, according to Cresa. He also was an officer or director of many of Staubach’s subsidiaries and affiliates.

Leslie has served as an advisor to Cresa’s board of directors since 2002 and was one of the founders of the firm’s capital markets group. He also serves on the board of directors of Stratus Properties, a Central Texas real estate development company, and is chairman of the board at Ascendant Solutions, an equity investment firm in Dallas.