Meet Bruce Mosler of Cushman & Wakefield Real Estate

From his vantage point as chairman of Global Real Estate with Cushman & Wakefield, Bruce Mosler can see a clear path to commercial real estate success in a changing landscape. He is confident that those companies and cities that will be successful in the long run, are those willing to make necessary changes, willing to jettison the obsolete and who recognize the importance of their employee base.

“This is a unique time for all of us,” says Mosler, who joined Manhattan-headquartered Cushman & Wakefield in 1997 and rose to CEO in 2005, a position he held until 2010. “The culture of a company changes by the nature of the people it recruits, and, we in real estate can help companies maneuver that changing culture.”

Mosler’s credentials in the global commercial market are unimpeachable. During his time as chairman, he led Cushman & Wakefield from $800 million in sales to $2.1 billion, and diversified the company’s revenue stream by 30 percent through expansion into Europe and the Asia Pacific regions.

Mosler, who says COVID-19 was a major changing point for businesses and commercial real estate, explains that savvy brokers have always had to help clients understand and maneuver the needs of the workforce, but in the past, the targeted workforce usually began and ended in the C suites. Today, companies must pay more attention to labor analytics, which affect the balance sheet. More prospective workers are looking at the work-live-play dynamics of a company, which means that companies have to tailor their real estate choices to those that either fit that dynamic, or that have the potential to do so.

“Culture matters,” says Mosler, who stresses that successful companies understand the importance of investing in infrastructure. “Today’s workers want to be close to the different experiences they want to enjoy outside work. They also don’t want a long commute, so one-stop transportation is important. The food and beverage options also matter. Are those amenities in place? If not, how difficult is it going to be to create that environment [at a prospective location]?”

Those changing dynamics and a more demanding workforce will render some building obsolete. Others will require major renovations and even curated retail spaces. The companies that understand and take the lead in maneuvering those changes will be the ones that end up with the strongest bottom lines.

Mosler, who is one of real estate’s most influential brokers, explains that the workforce is returning to the office with many companies seeing in excess of 60% of people back in the office. He added that the most popular in-office work days are Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday, with more than 70% of the workforce in the office on these days.

“Companies understand that you need that face-to-face collaboration that leads to innovation,” says Mosler, who spends the majority of his time in Manhattan, but also enjoys time in Palm Beach and The Hamptons.  “Our job [as real estate brokers] is to help them envision and create that [optimum] office environment.”

He says where once the design of the space may have centered on the offices on the exterior, they now focus on the interior spaces. Mosler, who is chairman of global brokers, says his clients want collaboration spaces. They want natural light and green spaces. Companies also need an inviting space to host clients. Mosler notes that not every building will be a candidate for commercial office space. Some will be relegated to housing or other uses. And, some may find their usefulness exhausted.

“Our Gen Z workers want that live-work-play dynamic, and they want it all at their fingertips” Mosler explains. “That doesn’t mean that an older building is automatically excluded. Companies must be in a location that makes sense.”

In September, Cushman & Wakefield released “Reimagining Cities: Disrupting the Urban Doom Loop,” which detailed what cities needed to do to avoid becoming obsolete. This included reimaging walkable urban places to yield dividends for all stakeholders in the city. The report detailed four key strategies needed to revitalize cities and downtowns to ensure they remain vibrant and engaging.

Decreasing the share of real estate dedicated to work, especially in downtowns;

Increasing the share of space dedicated to live, especially in downtowns;

Boosting the ratio of for-sale housing withing Live;

and Enhancing the Play component, to drive incremental foot traffic from visitors

Mosler is definitely bullish on New York City, assuring all that NYC is at the forefront of the Live-Work-Play dynamic. It also is a tech powerhouse that rivals Silicon Valley.

Ever on the cutting edge, Cushman & Wakefield has trained its innovative chops on its workforce. Cushman & Wakefield, through its military and veterans programs, actively recruits those in the armed services.

“A company’s culture changes by the nature of the people it recruits,” says Mosler, who also is on the board of the Intrepid Air and Space Museum. “When you recruit from the military, you’re choosing from the best and brightest. They have leadership skills and are used to working as a team. They also have specialized training.”

Thanks to the MVP program, Cushman & Wakefield has consistently been ranked one of the best companies for those coming out of the military. Mosler has volunteered his time to lead various nonprofit boards, but his assistance to veterans is particularly close to his heart.

“This is an under-appreciated, under-utilized population,” says Mosler, who adds that veterans do well under pressure and come in with demonstrated leadership skills. They also often have skills that may not translate well on a resume but do in the workplace.

For Mosler, who has a long history of philanthropic endeavors, and others at Cushman & Wakefield, the MVP program also is about the nuts and bolts of making veterans’ lives better and helping them to have a successful transition to civilian life.

“I am fortunate to work for one of the most talented organizations in the industry,” says Mosler, under whose stewardship Cushman & Wakeman went from a national to a global entity. “Culture matters. And, the most diverse workplace [pool] outside college is the military. We’re in a very dynamic moment in time. Recruiting from within the military gives us another arrow in our quiver.”

Todd Shapiro is an award-winning publicist and associate publisher of Dan’s Papers.