LOS ANGELES-Since he joined the firm as a sales trainee in 1984, CBRE CEO Brett White has seen the company almost quadruple in size to 34,000 employees, but this year will be his last leading the global firm. White will retire at the end of the year, and current president Robert Sulentic will take on the CEO post.

White was re-elected to the company’s board of directors on Tuesday, and he will remain on the board after his retirement. He said in a statement that being at CBRE has been “an adventure of a lifetime,” and that the company has become one of the world’s leaders in commercial real estate services. “It is…good news for me, as I can embark on my next business chapter at a time when the company is in the best possible position.”

He did not comment on what he plans to do after leaving CBRE. Both White and a company spokesman did not return a call for comment.

In the statement, Sulentic was praised as being ready for the new position. “At CBRE, we pride ourselves on developing excellent leaders and careful succession planning, and beginning at the end of the year, we will have a strong new CEO in Bob,” said Richard Blum, chairman of the firm, in the statement.”

The company has had strong success in the past few years as one of its main competitors, Grubb & Ellis, has crumbled. CBRE most acquired ING REIM last year, and still makes large deals such as recently gaining the leasing assignment for the 2.2-million-square-foot Prudential Plaza building in Chicago.

Want to continue reading?
Become a Free ALM Digital Reader.

Once you are an ALM Digital Member, you’ll receive:

  • Breaking commercial real estate news and analysis, on-site and via our newsletters and custom alerts
  • Educational webcasts, white papers, and ebooks from industry thought leaders
  • Critical coverage of the property casualty insurance and financial advisory markets on our other ALM sites, PropertyCasualty360 and ThinkAdvisor
NOT FOR REPRINT

© 2024 ALM Global, LLC, All Rights Reserved. Request academic re-use from www.copyright.com. All other uses, submit a request to [email protected]. For more information visit Asset & Logo Licensing.