GlobeSt.com: The landscape is different than it was a year ago. So what's new with you?

Mosler: Cushman & Wakefield in general is experiencing a great opportunity to hire super talent from competitive firms because our brand has never been stronger. People are gravitating to us because they perceive us as aggressive and pursuing new directions and, more important, that we are stable, strong and debt-free. And stability in a firm is very important--not only to the superstar but to anyone on the brokerage side and in the support-service areas of that business.

GlobeSt.com: Debt-free? Could you possibly be alluding to CBRE?

Mosler: There's so much volatility in the industry, and the merger and acquisition activity has been substantial. That we have stood above that means that there is a comfort and stability to our brand. In terms of alluding to any one deal, I don't judge other people's rationale.

GlobeSt.com: Stability can be a two-edged sword when an acquisition--like that of CBRE--dominates the marketplace. How do you maintain your public presence--especially when there are so few deals to hang your hat on?

Mosler: Funny, if anyone ever asked me what could strengthen our name--more ads, some major acquisition--nothing could have strengthened our brand more than all that has occurred in the industry. Reflecting on that merger, it grew the reputation of our brand significantly. Our clients and our personnel seem to be all the more satisfied with Cushman & Wakefield--to a level I could not have predicted. Our name has grown more than in any other 12-month period because we have built on our own strategy. And we continue to do so.

GlobeSt.com: At the same time, over the past few months there have been rumors about talks between Trammell and Cushman. Anything you'd like to share?

Mosler: There's nothing I can comment on concerning Trammell Crow because the rumors are preposterous.

GlobeSt.com: Of course, there have been some interesting acquisitions. How is Concordis coming along?

Mosler: We began with nine members in February of this year. And a month ago we announced our 10th--JRT, which gave us enormous credibility on the agency side of the business and added some 1.7 million sf of leasing and management to our portfolio.

GlobeSt.com: You've devoted a lot of time to the development of such strategies. But you are at core a deal guy. How do you reconcile the two parts of your life?

Mosler: I do it in the following way. I spend my time now on revenue-generating opportunities, and that means a variety of things: first is recruiting. I enjoy that process because it's like winning and closing a deal. It entails the same sophistication of negotiation.

The same is true in the acquisition of a business. I enjoy negotiating and structuring an acquisition. I also enjoy being a resource to people and pitching business without conflict. They don't hesitate to pull me because I'm perceived as a business-development resource. As president of the company I can direct the proper resources to an initiative. So, although I'm not negotiating the specifics of a deal, driving the strategy of this company is no different, and I have no less love for what I do today than for what I did before.

GlobeSt.com: Do you think it's true in other organizations that have promoted up?

Mosler: You can't make the assumption that it carries through in the same way. On the management side, your priorities are different and your sense of urgency has to reflect a more balanced approach as opposed to speed to market and a close-no-matter-what approach.

GlobeSt.com: So does Concordis start to feel old and do you get itchy for the next big thing?

Mosler: Too many agenda items cause you to lose focus and not succeed in your initial objective. There are two phases of any process. First is doing the deal and the other is implementing it successfully--and that demands a longer-term, more patient investment of your time. Phase two with Concordis is making sure it is integrated throughout the entire system, that our people are educated to it and that our clients are exposed to it.

GlobeSt.com: How much of that part of the process is yours?

Mosler: While I have people who help me operate the business day-to-day, I want to stay within the initiatives we develop, be it in multifamily housing, where I will continue to recruit; or in Concordis, where I will continue to recruit; or in the alliance program, where I will continue to look for companies that can represent us in second- and third-tier cities. If you are not prepared to stick with an initiative, it will lack the sense of company commitment. That's something that has to be shown from the top.

GlobeSt.com: Are you the type to let go easily on such initiatives?

Mosler: I know when to let go. In a company this big, you have to know when to let go of an initiative and let it grow. I can show my support but I can't drive it. It's got to have a champion within the organization.

GlobeSt.com: You've gone on the record with your optimism about the near-term outlook for New York real estate. Tell me more.

Mosler: Perhaps I'm more of an optimist than others, but I see the New York marketplace as bottomed out and beginning to recover. Corporate earnings are improving and capital spending is up at these corporations. So the day-to-day managers of these corporations have told their respective bosses that they need to grow revenues, that they've cut all they can cut. Can there be a jobless recovery? Of course not.

GlobeSt.com: When will we start to see that job growth?

Mosler: It depends very much on the overall signs of improvement in the economy. It can come as soon as first-quarter '04 or as late as fourth-quarter '04. But, as I said, I'm optimistic and expect to see it sooner rather than later. In terms of the investment sales market, as job growth and optimism begins to occur, you'll see much more product enter the marketplace.

And we should add one more piece of good news. Post-Sept. 11, for us to be able to say that New York is outperforming the rest of the national investment-sales market on a price-per-sf basis is fantastic. It says three things. It says that we never left so we didn't have to come back. It says that, with more capital in the market than ever before, much of that capital is seeking a home in New York. And it says that the investment community sees New York as the place to be.