"When a company hires a team at a company like Cushman & Wakefield, it's because they trust the local team, and also because they have expectations that the brokers will bring in all of the resources of the company as a whole to execute the assignment," says the 35-year brokerage veteran. "Brokers get in my doghouse when they don't walk, talk, act and execute like a global broker."
Dieter says his first several months at C&W will be spent visiting local markets, "meeting the brokerage teams, finding out their wants and needs, making sure they do what it takes to succeed in an unstable market. I'll also be meeting with clients. In my 35-plus years, I've been very fortunate to develop strong relationship with some of the top industrial REITs and developers all over the country. I'll hear it from them on how we've serviced them and what some of their wants and needs are."
He acknowledges that "we're in some challenging times—the global economy and where it's going. Our brokers will be mostly challenged by what they work on and who they work with. That all relates back to time efficiencies; in this market, that will be one of their biggest challenges."
Dieter says he expects the team to be "reinventing themselves a bit. One cannot expect to be doing the same thing they've always done if the market's never been like this before." An asset that C&W's industrial brokers will be able to draw on, he says, is his own extensive network of contacts.
Dieter retired in November after eight years overseeing CB Richard Ellis' 950-member Americas industrial practice. "They were taking bets on whether it would be one month or three months before I came out of retirement," he jokes. It was a call from Joseph Harbert, COO of C&W's New York operations, that led him to get back on the job. "He told me, 'You can't retire; you have too much energy, too much passion,'" Dieter recalls. "I retired on Nov. 15 and officially start at C&W on Feb. 1, so count back how many days that was."
Jack Durburg, executive managing director at CBRE, tells GlobeSt.com, "We have high regard for Jim. He was an integral part of our company for many years, and we wish him all the best."
In a release, John C. Santora, C&W's president and CEO of the Americas, says he's confident that Dieter "will help take our industrial platform to even greater heights in the months and years to come." C&W on Thursday also announced three promotions within the industrial practice. A. Dwight Hotchkiss has been promoted to executive managing director—industrial operations, while Peter W. Quinn IV has been promoted to executive managing director—supply. Chain. Christine Schultz will head marketing and communications for the industrial platform. —With additional reporting by Katie Hinderer
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Paul Bubny
Paul Bubny is managing editor of Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. He has been reporting on business since 1988 and on commercial real estate since 2007. He is based at ALM Real Estate Media Group's offices in New York City.
