Barry Gosin will step down as CEO of Newmark at the end of the year, ending a 48-year run at the helm of the brokerage and commercial real estate services firm. 

Gosin will continue to serve as chairman of Newmark’s operating company, Newmark & Co. Real Estate Inc., and will “focus on relevant and impactful topics,” the company said in a news release Friday morning.

The board of directors expects to select a new CEO by the end of the year. 

“We are delighted that Barry will remain with the Company as Chairman of the operating company to help the next generation of leadership as they guide Newmark through its next chapter of growth,” Chairman of the Board of Directors Stephen Merkel said in a statement. 

Newmark was founded in 1929, but Gosin shepherded the company into the giant it is today starting in the late 1980s, when he began building the brokerage and advisory business with a focus on New York City. 

He helped take the company public in 2017, although it has remained majority-controlled by Cantor Fitzgerald, the financial services giant formerly led by Commerce Secretary Howard Lutnick. 

As part of the transition plans, Gosin entered into a new employment agreement that will keep him in the chairman position up to 2029. 

“The Company is stronger than ever, our strategy is working, and the opportunities ahead are substantial, which is why I believe now is the right time to take a step back from day to day operations to focus solely on matters that will make a difference to Newmark, and to support the Company through this transition,” Gosin said in a statement. 

Newmark has more than 195 offices and 10,000 staff on four continents. The company posted record second-quarter revenue in July and boosted fees from leasing and other commissions by 17.2% compared to the prior year. Earnings per share inched up a penny from the prior year, and the firm modestly beat analyst estimates but held its guidance flat. 

The brokerage has bulked up its service offerings with two acquisitions from Altus Group this year. Earlier this month, it announced the purchase of the development advisory business from Altus, the maker of the popular underwriting software Argus, which includes 335 employees spread across Canada, the U.S., Australia and Thailand.

That deal came a few months after Newmark’s March acquisition of Altus’ Canadian appraisals business, which serves more than 3,000 clients, including institutional funds, lenders and REITs. 

In another executive suite move, Newmark named Kyle Lutnick, Howard Lutnick’s son, as the brokerage’s chief strategy officer in May. The 30-year-old is tasked with overseeing Newmark’s transformation agency, which includes the firm’s approach to data, artificial intelligence and other technology.