NEW YORK CITY—The agenda before Kimberly Brennan—who Colliers International has hired as its first ever female COO of the New York and tri-state region—is a tough one. She's expected to grow Colliers' local presence to a level where it becomes a major player in the New York market.

But after building Cushman & Wakefield New Jersey into a powerhouse over the last decade, Brennan is the right woman for the job. Previously the highest-ranking female commercial real estate executive in New Jersey as market leader for Cushman, Brennan sat down with GlobeSt.com for this UPDATE to a previous story.

GlobeSt.com: Why did you take this position?

Brennan: It's such an exciting opportunity. It gives me a chance to be more strategic and to build a platform. I had the chance to build New Jersey before and I had a great time doing it. I'm looking forward to bringing that experience to Colliers, especially now that I'm known.

GlobeSt.com: You built a team in C&W's New Jersey office. Will you do the same thing at Colliers, and why?

Brennan: I had a chance to attract junior talent, build the middle and work to retain the top talent and I'll do the same thing at Colliers. It's like a baseball game, determining who you're going to recruit and who you want to keep or to trade.

You always want to get the junior talent coming in from college and build the middle because you always do lose some talent so you want to make sure you have a deep bench.

GlobeSt.com: What are some of your goals for your work at Colliers?

Brennan: I have to take a deep dive into the organizational structure and go from there. Colliers is poised to do something great and they're willing to let me get in there and take a look at the company.

Every time you come into a new firm you want to be strategic. I'm going to look at the different service areas to see what's hot and what we can grow.

GlobeSt.com: What does it mean to you—and what do you think it means for the industry—that Colliers has hired a woman for this position?

Brennan: Colliers is very pro woman and I love that women can get in these powerful positions and really make a difference. Any time you have a woman in the C-suite at a real estate organization, it's a good thing. When we talk about career paths with girls and young women, we want them to see that they too can become executives in this industry.

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Rayna Katz

Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.

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