"Colliers Macaulay Nicolls has grown substantially in the US over the past several years, both in the West as well as nationally. We're at a size now where we need to have a central point of accountability for those functions across the company," Spiegel explains. Colliers is a partnership of independent companies, and Colliers Macaulay Nicolls is the largest member of Colliers International, operating 146 offices in 36 countries, with 26 offices in the US.

According to Rick Chichester, president of US operations for Colliers, "We'd like to see that growth continue, but we also want to be sure we're operating as efficiently and effectively as possible." Spiegel adds that one function of his job will be to ensure "a solid, sustainable infrastructure" that will operate efficiently both in the current economic climate and down the road when the economy improves.

Spiegel draws a parallel between what he will be doing inside the company and what Colliers' brokers do on the outside. "Just as we tell our brokers and our real estate professionals that it is best to specialize in terms of serving the client, this is designed to do the same thing internally," he says.