Brett WhiteOf CBRE

It’s hard to talk about Brett White. He’d much prefer to talk about business. But for a few weeks at least, news of the business and White the man merge as he prepares to take the helm of CB Richard Ellis in June. That’s when Ray Wirta steps down as CEO and White adds that title to his current role as president. Hesitatingly, he talked of his leadership style and background, but felt more at home discussing the state and future of the firm, which last year posted revenues of nearly $2.4 billion. He promises no major redirection of the company he has worked for since 1984 but a further strategic development of the programs and services already in place. But in Real Estate Media’s recent CEO Roundtable , Wirta made very specific references to his vision of what leadership is all about. How does White view these issues, critical to the tone and direction of a company? Most important, how does he view the future of the firm in terms of expanding those services in the face of increasingly global competition? In an exclusive interview recently here in New York, White laid it all out on the table.

GlobeSt.com: So how does a biology major from Santa Barbara end up running a global real estate company?

White: I was fascinated by science from a very early age but came to the conclusion in my early days in college that the major was not the main event. The learning experience was the main event as was the process of getting from A to Z. To that extent, an education in hard science gave me great training for running a business.