JLL appoints Ben Jackson as Head of Development Services

CHICAGO, April 16, 2025 – JLL Project and Development Services (PDS) announced today that it has appointed Ben Jackson as the Global Head of Development Services. In this newly created position, his team will harness the collective capabilities of PDS around the world to benefit clients wherever they are.

Jackson will oversee development advisory, development management, cost management and project controls for PDS, bringing together a comprehensive team of global experts. Uniting these development-oriented global practices strengthens JLL’s position in the market as a leader in development services and benefits clients on a global and local scale across all sectors.

“Guided by his years of experience, Ben will unify the global development services business to benefit our clients who depend on our specialized knowledge and data-driven strategies,” said Cynthia Kantor, CEO, PDS at JLL. “JLL is an industry leader in delivering spaces for clients that transform their organizations, inspire their people and reimagine the possibilities of the built environment.”

Jackson has been with JLL for more than 10 years, most recently as PDS Head of Strategy and Growth for EMEA and APAC. Before that, he led PDS in the Middle East and Africa for a decade and heavily contributed to the strong growth of that market, driven by large-scale projects. He has spent over 20 years delivering and leading projects as a contractor, architect and project manager across the Middle East, North Africa, the United Kingdom and Australia.

“By uniting our development practices under a global structure, streamlining our processes, leveraging our best talent everywhere and bringing our global capabilities to local markets, PDS will continue to deliver the best solutions for our clients,” added Jackson. “The team brings the most innovative thinking, deep subject matter expertise and local development knowledge to benefit our clients and help them realize their objectives.” 

Last year, JLL unified its PDS business globally, enabling a more cohesive approach to connecting people, processes and expertise. This strategic restructuring has laid a robust foundation for expansion in crucial sectors and continues to elevate JLL's proficiency in development services.

JLL Project and Development Services is a leader in the advisory, design, management and delivery of commercial real estate projects for the world’s most prominent corporations, educational institutions, public jurisdictions, healthcare organizations, industrial facilities, retailers, hotels, sports facilities and real estate owners. JLL’s project management team comprises 9,300 project managers across 80 countries with $87.4 billion in projects managed annually. JLL’s design teams consist of 1,200 design professionals from over 50 countries, across more than 50 studios and three Centers of Excellence to service clients with end-to-end design solutions. Visit JLL Project Management to learn more.

For more news, videos and research resources on JLL, please visit JLL’s newsroom.