Anya Ostry

CBRE has expanded its corporate advisory team with the addition of Anya Ostry. Ostry joins the firm as first VP and as part of a 14-member team to focus on corporate occupiers. She has 10 years of experience and was previously with Cushman & Wakefield.

"I'm constantly looking for ways to be a better partner for my clients and increase the value that I add for them," Ostry tells GlobeSt.com about joining the firm. "When I evaluated the resources and talent that could be available to my clients by joining CBRE and specifically my team, I realized this was the right move and at the right time.  Let me be clear, I was not expecting a global pandemic to take place, but ultimately, if we are going to tread some uncharted waters, as we are now, there is no other group of people that I'd rather have in my boat than the team that I am with now."

Associate Brandon Luckham is making the move from Cushman with Ostry. Together, they will team up with EVPs Travis Boyd and Alex Hayden in Orange County. "Our biggest goal is to find more ways to help our current clients as well as our prospective clients during and after this unprecedented difficult time," says Ostry.  "Whether it be increasing their productivity by introducing a new technology, imbedding a transaction manager in a region to assist in handling their overseas portfolio, or streamlining the project management process, the goal is to be their third-party corporate real estate department helping them to drive business goals. We've also recently added a workplace strategist consultant to our team to be better prepared to help them.  Having a little fun along the way is always a nice bonus."

No doubt, this is an interesting time to be changing firms. The pandemic will certainly have an impact on corporate clients this year. "I think companies will be "gun-shy" for the next 3-6 months, and we'll see a lot of asks for short-term renewals while assessing the aftermath of COVID-19 on business continuity," Ostry. "However, I believe by the fourth quarter, we'll see things start to stabilize and get back to a "new" normal. For those of us advising larger corporations, now is the time to keep giving to our clients daily.  Whether it means assisting their HR department surveying employees' ability to work virtually or advising on processes and procedures to get employees back to the offices safely. I expect that much of what we do will not be transactional in the coming months, but more consulting, and we welcome the challenge and the opportunity."

With occupiers' best interest in mind, Ostry is advising clients to be patient, particularly to see what the recovery will look like. "My advice is to not make any rash decisions," she says. "Bringing employees back to the workplace will be a process, not an event. It's important to understand the corporate objectives around employee engagement and culture in this new normal before shedding too much space too quickly or ever at all.  I also think now is an appropriate time to identify areas of opportunity in your real estate portfolio and prioritize them accordingly."