What's Next in Corporate Real Estate: Recent Episodes
Cushman & Wakefield
The What’s Next in Corporate Real Estate podcast is an insight into the changing world of work and corporate property.
Presented by Michael Creamer, Chairman of Global Occupier Services, EMEA.
In each podcast Michael invites an industry expert into his studio to explore their career, how they navigate the modern corporate real estate landscape and what drivers are impacting change throughout the industry.
In this episode of The Team Around the Table, we explore how corporate real estate and HR can join forces to create people-centric workplaces that drive engagement, well-being and performance. Cushman & Wakefield’s Despina Katsikakis, Global Lead, Total Workplace, Global Occupier Services, and Carol Wong, APAC Lead, Total Workplace, Global Occupier Services, team up with Prudential’s Sheela Parakkal, Group Head of Talent, Leadership, Learning and Culture and Regional CHRO, Prudential plc.,to discuss how the power of intentional leadership, wellbeing ecosystems, and purpose-driven design to create spaces where employees thrive.
Sheela introduces Prudential’s innovative "well-being ecosystem," which integrates safety, belonging and self-leadership into workplace strategy. Building on this, Carol shares data-driven insights from Cushman & Wakefield’s Experience per Square FootTM (XSF) survey, highlighting the critical role of choice in employee satisfaction. The conversation also delves into intentional leadership, the evolving purpose of the office, and how thoughtful design can reflect and reinforce company values.
This episode is a must-listen for anyone looking to bridge the gap between people and place to drive long-term business value.
Partnerships, workplace excellence and sustainability were front and center in the latest episode of The Team Around the Table podcast conversation between Bank of America’s Kristen Landis and President of Client Delivery GOS, Pedro Vasquez.
Together, they unpacked the challenges and opportunities in creating workplace environments that attract talent, align with business goals and support sustainability.
In this special episode of The Team Around the Table, join host Aubrey Waddell as she talks with Shelley Boland, Global Head of Real Estate at Standard Chartered, about the bank’s approach to managing their global real estate footprint at this transformative moment.
Shelley shares insights into the challenges of managing a global portfolio, the importance of strategic partnerships, and how Standard Chartered is redefining client and employee experiences while prioritizing sustainability.
In this episode of The Team Around the Table, Global Head of Portfolio Lease Administration, Phillip Kelloff, explores the critical role of data management in handling expansive real estate portfolios.
Joined by Kimberley Burn, EMEA’s Head of Portfolio Administration; Ashley Metcalf, Regional Director of Lease Administration Brokerage Accounts, and Rory Murray, Vice Chair, Transaction Management, they discuss the necessity of meticulous data management for compliance, strategic decision-making, and the advantages of outsourcing to ensure data accuracy, optimize asset management, and drive organizational success.
In this episode of The Team Around the Table, Steven Zatta, Global Lead for Total Workplace Research & Innovation, gets a global perspective on the complexity of hybrid work environments with Total Workplace colleagues Kim Yong, Associate Director, in Singapore, and Gerda Stelpstra, Partner, in the Netherlands.
Together, they explore the multifaceted challenges—and opportunities—presented by hybrid work environments, focusing on the interplay between human experience, workplace design and technology, and recognizing the importance of social capital.
In this hybrid era of work, real estate is key to talent engagement and retention. Workplace experience means making sure employees feel heard, productive and connected to company culture.
In this episode of The Team Around the Table, Bryan Jacobs, President, Growth & Strategy, Global Occupier Services, talks with Chief Experience Officer Suzanne Mehta. Together, they explore the parallels between consumer brand loyalty and employee affection towards their employers. It’s a conversation about operationalizing workplace experience in the age of hybrid work, where employees—and their well-being—are at the center of it all.
Sal Companieh, Chief Digital & Information Officer, talks to Richard Middleton, President, International Client Delivery (Global Occupier Services), about technology, data, and people— highlighting the pivotal role that data and technology play in shaping corporate real estate operations and organizational strategy.
In this episode, we are talking about space management and workplace optimization. Kay Barrett, Global Head of Space Management, Planning, and Occupancy, and Laura Bailey, Global Director of Spatial Analytics, talk about the combination of design and data to reshape the way businesses utilize their offices.
Don’t miss this engaging conversation, where Kay and Laura share strategies for navigating the complexities of the modern workspace.
In this episode of The Team Around the Table, we uncover the importance of aligning corporate real estate to overall business strategy—and why it’s at the top of the C-suite agenda.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Global Head of Integrated Portfolio Management (IPM), Richard Middleton, leads this conversation with Michele Barkinge, Senior Managing Director, Global Portfolio Insights & Analytics, and Dimitris Vlachopoulos, International Partner, Head of Portfolio & Location Strategy. Find out how proactivity and robust decision-making are at the heart of successful integrated portfolio management.
In today’s complex business environment, establishing trustful and transparent relationships between buyers and suppliers has become crucial for strategic success.
Join Kate Vitasek, a renowned authority in collaborative business relationships, and Bryan Jacobs, President, Growth & Strategy, Global Occupier Services (GOS), Cushman & Wakefield, as they explore the power of “vested outsourcing” – a methodology that fosters win-win scenarios in contractual agreements, enabling buyers and suppliers to achieve strategic outcomes together through shared values and goals.
In this episode, we continue our conversation about the power of partnership—this time, with one of our own most enduring relationships: our 25-year partnership with H&R Block. Cushman & Wakefield’s Shannon Koenigsdorf, Executive Managing Director, Account Management, Global Occupier Services (GOS), is back, and she joins H&R Block’s Shawn Moore, to share their journey through the complexities of managing the 6,600 corporate locations within H&R Block’s vast real estate portfolio.
Shannon and Shawn explore how H&R Block navigates the unique challenges posed by their seasonal business model. This episode is a deep dive into the power of partnership, strategic thinking, and the importance of agility and flexibility in the ever-changing landscape of CRE.
Commercial real estate transitions can be challenging and intimidating. Smooth transitions, however, are possible with strategic planning, transparency, and true partnership.
Join Sarah Wiseman, Executive Managing Director, Commercial Strategy, Global Occupier Services (GOS) and Brandy Avery, Platform Operations & Strategy Leader, GOS, in this episode where they explore the critical role of change management and the importance of client engagement. They also share the challenges of data management and the art of balancing risk and expectation. We learn big and small ideas about transforming the intimidating task of CRE portfolio transition into making change a positive and value-driven journey.
What does excellence look like in the relationship between occupiers and their corporate real estate (CRE) outsource providers?
Join us as we kick off our first episode of The Team Around the Table, where we dive deep into the composition of a successful CRE team, and the impact it has on the client relationship and in driving value.
Cushman & Wakefield’s Pedro Vasquez, President, Client Delivery, Global Occupier Services (GOS), Jamie Ergle, Executive Managing Director, Account Management, GOS, and Shannon Koenigsdorf, Executive Managing Director, Account Management, GOS, define “destination accounts,” talk about keys to success, and uncover the values and capabilities essential for your next CRE team.
Embracing a 4-day work week is a strategic move for enhancing business operations through increased efficiency rather than extended hours. This approach emphasizes prioritizing the well-being of organizations' most vital business asset – their employees. 4 Day Week Global champion the 100-80-100™ framework, advocating for full pay for 80% of the time while ensuring 100% productivity in return.
Join host Michael Creamer, Despina Katsikakis, Executive Partner & Global Head, Total Workplace at Cushman & Wakefield, and Charlotte Lockhart and Andrew Barnes,co-founders of 4 Day Week Global, to understand how the discourse surrounding work should transition from time to outcomes in terms of productivity.
Join Michael Creamer and Hanna Afolabi, MRICS, founder of BWRE (Black Women in Real Estate) and Joelle Allotey, Associate Director at Cushman & Wakefield, as they explore the unique challenges of black women navigating the real estate landscape. They talk about creating spaces for people to connect, empower one another and grow their reach and influence through a combined voice.
BWRE has been established with the purpose of building a network that can serve as a supportive community within the industry. Their next event entitled ‘Phenomenal Women Panel’ is on 18th of October.
Join host Michael Creamer and Stephen Day, Chief Procurement Officer at Kantar, a leading marketing data and analytics company, to explore the intricate connections between technology, procurement strategies, and property management. They share their insights, experiences, and predictions with a special focus on how AI (Artificial Intelligence) is reshaping the landscape of procurement within the real estate industry.
Stephen Day is an accomplished international executive, with expertise in operations management, specializing in supply chain, purchasing, multi country transformation and change.
The rise of remote work and hybrid teams has brought new opportunities and challenges for managers everywhere. To unlock potential in today’s workplace, managers should view the office as an essential tool within their management toolkit, facilitating collaboration, innovation, and alignment among team members.
Join host Michael Creamer and Bella Vuillermoz, Strategic Advisor and Non-Executive Director as they discover the importance of equipping managers with the knowledge and skills required to lead hybrid teams effectively. Bella is an experienced senior leader with 25 years’ experience in strategy, communications, D&I, commercial and operational areas, having worked at two FTSE100 companies.
They discuss:
[3:49] - Ways to improve the performance of already successful real estate teams
[7:17] - How to define the purpose of a team
[11:14] - The role of culture for real estate executives and teams
[14:31] - Reverting to pre-pandemic office practices out of convenience
[20:24] - Laying down the rules
[24:12] - Reasons for the office
In today's evolving work landscape, the social value of real estate takes centre stage as we explore the compelling reasons behind the resurgence of interest in office spaces. Amid the era of technology, individuals seek the tangible connections and shared experiences that the physical office environment can offer.
Join Michael Creamer, Despina Katsikakis, Executive Partner, Global Head of Total Workplace at Cushman & Wakefield and current President of the British Council for Offices, and Rob Harris, Principal at Ramidus Consulting as they delve into the deeper connections, collaborative opportunities, and sense of belonging that draw people back to the office, shaping the future of work and community engagement.
Join Michael Creamer and Chris Kane, Co-founder of Everythingomni, as they discuss the publishing of Chris’s latest book, ‘Where is My Office? Reimagining the Workplace for the 21st Century’. In this episode, they explore how the commercial real estate industry can embrace today's challenges and transform them into opportunities.
The latest edition of Chris’s book, published after the recording of this podcast, offers a flexible framework that enables leaders to harmonize their approach to managing workspaces with the requirements of their business and employees.
In this episode, Michael Creamer is joined by Brian Elliott, advisor, author, co-founder of Future Forum, and Bryan Berthold, Global Lead, Workplace Experience at Cushman & Wakefield. They discuss how today’s employees want choice in when and where they work, and delve into the power of flexible work arrangements and how they can unlock the true potential of the workforce.
Brian Elliott is co-author of the book ‘How the Future Works: Leading Flexible Teams To Do The Best Work of Their Lives’. The book presents a detailed plan for harnessing the power of flexible work, and provides a roadmap for establishing the essential principles and guidelines that empower agile and high-performing teams.
Join Michael Creamer in this insightful episode as he sits down with Bill Knightly, Chief Executive of Global Occupier Services (GOS), to delve into the findings of our annual survey conducted in collaboration with CoreNet Global: "What Occupiers Want."
Discover what truly matters to occupiers, ranging from sustainability and recruiting tech talent to post-pandemic portfolio transformations. With over 180 CRE leaders participating globally, the survey represents the collective perspectives of approximately 9.6 million employees and 741 million square feet of floor area.
To gain a comprehensive understanding, download the full report: https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights/what-occupiers-want
In this episode, Michael Creamer is joined by Nicola Gillen, Richard Pickering, Sophie Schuller and Zoe Humphries, lead authors of our new book ‘Reworking the Workplace’ published by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
The book explores the future of work, workplace, and the city in the face of global disruptors. It provides data, concepts and frameworks, historic analysis, and 50+ cutting edge case studies, across three thematic areas of People, Purpose, and Place.
‘Reworking the Workplace’ is available 1 June 2023 from the RIBA Bookstore and on Amazon.
In the second episode of the ‘BCO Forces of Change’ podcast, host Michael Creamer speaks with Chris Kane, Co-founder of Everythingomni, leader of the Business workstream, and Hannah Davis, Director at Faithful+Gould, leader of the ESG workstream. They discuss how the connection between people and place has been redefined and how integrating ESG principles into workplace strategies can contribute to long-term success in 2023 and beyond.
The British Council for Offices (BCO) 2023 conference in Dublin will concentrate on the active involvement of commercial real estate in catalyzing technological, social, economic, and environmental shifts. The BCO’s Research Committee has appointed four subject matter experts who will investigate these areas and reflect upon the impact these forces of change will have on the real estate industry and specifically, the office sector.
The British Council for Offices was established in 1990 and is the primary forum that researches, develops and communicates best practice in all aspects of offices to shape the workplace of the future.
You can listen to the first episode about The Economy & Technology here and here.
The British Council for Offices' (BCO) 2023 conference in Dublin will focus on the need for commercial real estate to become an active agent of technological, social, economic, and environmental change. The BCO’s Research Committee has identified four subject matter experts who will take a strategic look at each of these areas and reflect upon the impact these forces of change will have on real estate and the office sector.
Listen in as host Michael Creamer, Nigel Miller, leader of the Technology workstream, and Nick Axford, leader of the Economy workstream discuss the future economic role of cities and how technology can support change, while highlighting the need for real estate to demonstrate its social relevance.
The British Council for Offices was established in 1990 and is the primary forum that researches, develops and communicates best practice in all aspects of offices to shape the workplace of the future.
In this podcast, you'll hear from Gerda Stelpstra, an anthropologist and self-described "nonconformist" of the corporate real estate sector. As a strategist at Cushman & Wakefield, she utilizes anthropological principles to guide organizations in their workplace development, placing human interaction, connection, and behavior at the forefront of strategic decisions.
We connect with Gerda at Helix, a flagship workplace and living lab for fostering social connection, where Cushman & Wakefield continually iterates and defines best practices.
Join Michael Creamer and Gerda Stelpstra at Helix in Utrecht, Netherlands as they discuss the importance of replacing guesswork with data and predictive analytics. Learn about their experiments with organizational network analysis, using smart building technology, and how a "brokerage highway" regulates stress in the workplace.
We have had another fantastic year of guests on the What’s Next in Corporate Real Estate podcast and we are grateful to all of our listeners for being on the journey with us.
As we reflect on the past year, it's hard not to consider how our perspectives on the world - how we live in it, how we work in it, and how we do business - have evolved. From the ongoing debate around the reason for the office, to the pressing issue of climate change - we continue to try and put it all together.
In this episode, we look back on some of our favourite moments and remind ourselves of insights gained along the way.
We hope you’ve enjoyed the podcast and we look forward to continuing to bring you great content in the year ahead. Thank you for your support!
2022 Episodes
“The Pathway To Net Zero”
* “Mental Health In The Workplace”
* “The Nowhere Office”
* “Office Of The Future Revisited”
* “21st Century Leadership”
* “Women Mentoring Women”
* “The Reinvention Of The Office”
* “Purpose, Values & Corporate Responsibility”*
Adele Blakebrough, MBE, co-founder, senior advisor, and previously CEO of Social Business Trust, understands the worlds of the third sector, the public sector and business, and how to get the best out of people in all three. She believes in the importance of social enterprises in addressing society's problems and what benefits working in partnership with business can bring.
Social Business Trust (SBT) is a charity which connects high-potential social enterprises with business leaders to grow social impact. Prior to establishing SBT, Adele built her reputation as a social entrepreneur through CAN (Community Action Network). In 2006, she was made an MBE for services to social enterprises, and a year later she also won the Sieff Prize for her collaboration with business in pursuit of social benefit.
Listen in as Michael Creamer and Adele Blakebrough discuss how businesses can contribute to societal well-being, and share real-life examples of charities and large corporates working together.
Philip Ross is an author, speaker, futurist and commentator on the new world of work. He specialises in predicting the impact emerging technology has on the way we will live, and he frequently runs workshops with organisations about workplace evolution. He is founder and CEO of UnGroup, which includes companies Unwired (WORKTECH events and WORKTECH Academy) and Unwork.
Philip’s latest book, co-authored with Jeremy Myerson: Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office, offers a panoramic view of the modern office and how parallel the rise of hybrid work, new working patterns and ideas are emerging. Unlearning old habits and rituals of an outdated office can create a new workplace fit for an age of digital technology, innovation, and diverse workforces.
Download Unworking: The Reinvention of the Modern Office.
Michelle Ferguson is an author and founding member of Chief - a private network built to drive more women into positions of power and keep them there. Prior to that she was senior VP, Global Business Services and Senior VP Global Real Estate Strategies and Services at Standard & Poors.
In her new book, Women Mentoring Women, Michelle addresses the primary issue that she believes holds women back: lack of mentorship. High-level leaders have the knowledge and expertise to assist and train lower-level professionals in business to prepare them to advance in their careers. While education plays a role in helping women land a job, understanding the business culture helps them climb the ladder of success.
Download Women Mentoring Women: https://www.amazon.com/Women-Mentoring-Strategies-Stories-Lift/dp/B09ZFKG7NS
Today’s complex business environment calls for a new approach to leadership. Modern organisations are shifting from traditional views of leadership that prioritised structure and control, towards organisations that are agile and empowered. How can 21st century leadership promote connectivity and human-centric purpose? How can leaders put the needs of their people at the heart of workplace decisions?
Tim Munden was previously Chief Learning Officer at Unilever and is now Director at Kairon - delivering development for leaders globally. Tim works with teams and leaders to develop and access their “inner game” so that they can deliver high performance in their organisations, sustainably and responsibly. He works with organisations to create cultures that inspire purpose and energy, and enable agility and empowerment.
The hybrid movement has just begun, and there is no single blueprint for successfully implementing it. Each organization must approach its transition with the question, “What does hybrid mean for us?"
Listen in as Michael Creamer and our global experts discuss the new realities shaping hybrid workplace strategies. In this time of cautious confidence, office space is increasingly in demand. However, the role of the office will be forever changed as we enter the post-pandemic world.
Download the full Office of the Future Revisited report: https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/insights/office-of-the-future-revisited
Julia Hobsbawm OBE is a British entrepreneur, writer and public speaker on Social Health, Simplicity in a Complex World, and the future of the workplace post-pandemic. She coined the phrase "The Nowhere Office" (and authored book of the same name) to describe the hybrid work era.
As remote working becomes the norm rather than the exception for many office workers around the globe, The Nowhere Office proposes a radical new way of thinking about work both now and in the future. Offering a strategic and practical guide to negotiating this pivotal moment in the history of work, The Nowhere Office addresses the problems which beset work - the endemic stagnant productivity and crisis of stress which predate the pandemic.
Drawing on history, cutting-edge research and extensive interviews Julia Hobsbawm argues persuasively that now is the time to develop something better, more meaningful, and, crucially, more workable.
Listen in as Michael Creamer and Julia Hobsbawm discuss the new challenges of remote working, repurposing offices for more creative interaction, managing WFH teams and satisfying the demand for more purposeful work with greater work/life balance.
Related Links * The Nowhere Office: Reinventing Work and the Workplace of the Future
Rianne Appel is an Associate Professor in Corporate Real Estate & Workplace at the Department of the Built Environment (Eindhoven University of Technology).
Rianne researches the management of Corporate Real Estate (CRE). She focuses on location, building and workplace design choices as drivers of user experience.
As mental health problems continue to increase across the world, any return to a physical workspace must focus on supporting employees.
Listen in as Michael Creamer and Rianne Appel discuss how research can help us to understand some of the challenges businesses now face.
Key Publications
- "A Handbook of Theories on Designing Alignment between People and the Office Environment" (2021): https://doi.org/10.1201/9781003128830
- "The Influence of the Physical Home Work Environment on Perceived Productivity During the COVID-19 Pandemic https://eurofm.org/wp-content/uploads/2021/06/Proceedings_EuroFM_Research_Symposium_2021.pdf
- "Conceptualizing Social Well-being in Activity-Based Offices". Journal of Managerial Psychology: https://doi.org/10.1108/JMP-09-2019-0529
Listen in as Michael Creamer, Chairman GOS EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield discusses how companies think about the impact of their real estate portfolio and more with Jane Muir-Sands, Vice President Global Real Estate and Operations at IBM, and Richard Middleton, Head of Client Delivery EMEA, Global Occupier Services at Cushman & Wakefield.
The move to net zero is under way with more than a fifth of the world’s largest companies having made commitments to cut their emissions to net zero. However, this will be a marathon, not a sprint - and far-reaching sector changes will be needed to reach the 2050 Net Zero emissions target.
It's no secret that the right data drives better decision making, and with more data points than ever, businesses are using insights to inform their portfolio strategy and optimise the spaces they occupy.
But there are still so many questions when it comes to corporate real estate, like which data is the most valuable? Can we use wellness and productivity data to shape the way we design space for better employee experiences; how is this linked to company purpose? And does a modern CRE team require data scientists to analyse and make sense of huge amounts of information?
Listen in as Michael Creamer, Chairman GOS EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield discusses all of these questions and more with Adam Hoy, Head of Worldwide Real Estate & Facilities at GSK and Marnix Mali, Director of Real Estate & Workspace Services at Booking.com.
References: * GSK Bangalore Video: Welcome to the Global Capability Center: our new site in Bengaluru * PlosOne work environment pilot: An experiment to determine the optimal office design for a technology company
More and more businesses are focusing on their purpose and making a difference to society, embracing the desire to be purpose-driven. Blending the aim of benefitting customers, employees, stakeholders, as well as the shareholder, is paramount for the best businesses.
What is business purpose? How are certified B Corporations considering the impact of their decisions on their workers, customers, suppliers, community, and the environment? How are companies using space to create a sense of community in a post-Covid world?
For this conversation Michael Creamer was joined by Andrew Budgen and Nathan Lonsdale, founders of the lab_, a collective of free-thinkers; architects, designers, developers, engineers, social scientists, educators and technologists; who all share the same purpose – to constantly experiment and reshape the boundaries so that we can live our lives better.
We know that a creative workplace culture nurtures creative behaviours which in turn promote innovation. Research has also shown that the benefits of engaging with art can include decreased stress, overall better mental health, emotional wellbeing and a deeper connection with culture and community.
How can an engaging workplace art programme, in both physical and digital spaces, play a role in engaging staff, nurturing behaviours and developing a creative culture in the workplace?
For this conversation Michael Creamer was joined by Catherine Thomas, Managing Director at Art Acumen, a workplace art consultancy delivering creative, diverse and highly engaging art programmes with a whole range of creative activities to keep your workforce well, connected and happy.
When it comes to university accommodation, today's students have increased expectations of value across the accommodation experience. With more choice than ever before, providers have had to build for a generation that have been concerned with sustainability in their formative years and expect wellbeing, a sense of community, and hassle-free living.
How can we build and operate spaces that promote inclusivity and support interaction? How should we think about creating sustainable and healthy buildings? How is the build-to-rent sector driving a sense of community, purpose and wellbeing?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Tom Rix, Managing Director, European Living Operations at Hines.
The past year has seen Facilities Management (FM) thrust into the spotlight and an acceleration of pre-existing trends. From enabling the mass transition to homeworking to ensuring employees can work in clean, safe environments, workplace and FM practitioners have played a key role in the response to the global pandemic crisis.
What role will FM now play within hybrid workplace ecosystems? How can FM services and amenities help create company culture, and ultimately, a better workplace experience? How can a Vested Outsourcing model create a shared culture that ensures mutual success?
For this conversation Michael Creamer was joined by Ingrid Fenn, President and CEO at SIREAS, and Bryan Jacobs, President, Global Integrated Facilities Management at Cushman & Wakefield.
The digital world has revolutionized how consumers shop. Digital retail experiences have rethought the customer experience across channels and devices, and have empowered the customer.
What lessons can businesses learn from the retail world - which is much further down the digital transformation road? How can real estate leaders seek to create workplace experiences in hybrid work-from-home models?
For this podcast Michael Creamer was joined by Ibrahim Ibrahim, futurist, retail strategist, designer and Managing Director at Portland Design, and Nicola Gillen, Head of Total Workplace EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield.
There is a fundamental misunderstanding that changes to how we work, post pandemic, are merely an acceleration of trends that were already underway. Are we in fact witnessing the start of a revolution that will utterly transform the dynamics of the real estate industry?
As we move to hybrid working a variety of working patterns will emerge. How will we need to change the way we operate as individuals and as companies? How should companies pivot so that they are primarily thinking about real estate as enabling employees to be as happy, healthy AND productive as they can be? How should we think about 'space as a service' - where consumption reflects the needs of the 'customers' - the employees?
For this podcast Michael Creamer was joined by Antony Slumbers, Co-Founder at Real Innovation Academy. Antony has been a software development and technology strategist in commercial real estate since 1995. He now consults and works with real estate boards on transformation, technology and innovation. A well-known speaker in property, he is a globally recognised expert on PropTech and 'space as a service'.
The world has endured systematic disruption in recent years with increasing global temperatures, rising income inequality and deepening geopolitical tensions. Now with a global pandemic and businesses reimagining how they want to operate, the world's largest investors are placing sustainability at the centre of their investment approaches. An imperative to focus on sustainability is emerging with an opportunity to reshape how we interact with our environments.
How has the sustainability imperative given companies a purpose and focus, beyond profit, that will ensure long-term viability? How can business leaders steer organizations through today’s volatility and not only survive, but thrive?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Oliver Dudok van Heel, Head of Client Sustainability and Environment at Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP and Katie Henry, Sustainability Manager at Cushman & Wakefield.
We live in extraordinary economic times volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous. In the service sector, many traditional approaches are no longer relevant and the landscape of brand identity, employee engagement and customer experience is changing.
Purpose and values set the foundation for an organisation’s culture, and are core to its way of working. Culture is not an initiative or a project, but the sum of habits and behaviours.
How can organisations put their values into action? In other words, how can organisations design their internal culture, which is ultimately the organisation itself?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Alan and Sam Williams, father and son and co-authors of The Values Economy: How to Deliver Purpose-Driven Service for Sustained Performance
In an age where the pace and complexity of change is only increasing, the activation of what drives our behavior – our human dilemmas – is causing many of us to experience a heightened degree of anxiety.
The pandemic crisis has been a powerful catalyst to thinking differently - to find greater success and fulfilment in our current times many business leaders have paused and reflected on their own sense of self and identity.
How can leaders embrace and use their human dilemmas to help them achieve what they desire? Why should businesses identify a purpose beyond turning profit? How can business leaders bring purpose to life through their own practice?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Rob Cross, Founder of Muru Leadership and an author and speaker with a focus on people and coaching senior leaders. Rob brings together over 20 years of research, practical experience of developing others and hands-on leadership.
The last year has seen a monumental rise in climate and decarbonisation commitments. With COP26 later this year, 2021 promises to be a year of action as businesses map a route towards net zero carbon commitments that require significant changes to business-as-usual products, practices and policies.
What does sustainability have to do with inclusion? Delivering on stretching decarbonisation targets will inevitably have knock-on social and economic impacts. Understanding and navigating these impacts will be critical to avoid deepening existing inequalities and support a 'just transition'.
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Munish Datta, Director of Membership & Operations at UK Green Building Council (UKGBC) and Fellow at University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL).
In today’s dynamic, highly connected and digital environment, there is a need to live and work differently. Businesses are now realising the importance of wellbeing initiatives to empower their people to make healthy choices and create communities who inspire and motivate each other to make small, sustainable changes that demonstrably improve their personal and professional lives.
During the pandemic personal wellbeing has taken a hit. We are living a work-life integration where people don’t know when or how to turn off. As these challenging times continue to have a significant impact on employees, have we seen the wake-up call for employers to consider investing in the experience of their employees?
How can we keep wellbeing at the forefront of minds when the pandemic is over? How can we create environments in which people thrive? How should we think about measuring employee wellbeing?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Sheila Champion-Smeeth, Global Head of Wellbeing, People and Communities at Cisco.
Since the start of the Industrial Revolution businesses have benefitted from a 'captive audience' when embedding their corporate culture, with employees present in the physical workplace. With business leaders planning to maintain a hybrid work-from-home structure even after the COVID-19 threat has passed, everything has changed. How should businesses now think about culture and what it means? Are we seeing the beginning of an exciting era of cultural evolution and innovation?
Cushman & Wakefield's Experience per SF™ (XSF) survey reported that half of employees are currently struggling to feel connected with their company's culture and their colleagues. How can businesses actively manage their culture to support their employees bond and create shared perceptions of what company culture is?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Ralph Ardill, a Brand Culture Specialist with 25+ years of helping businesses discover their purpose and deliver winning customer and employee brand experiences, and Despina Katsikakis, Global Head of Total Workplace at Cushman & Wakefield.
The world's supply chains have endured a uniquely challenging year, with a universally seismic set of circumstances. Companies find themselves operating in an increasingly complex world, navigating trade tariffs, shifts in transportation costs and capacity, and unprecedented surges in demand amidst a global pandemic. As global supply chains continue to be stress tested, the logistics market continues to show resilience and growth.
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Jeremy Giles, Global Head of Customer Led Solutions at Prologis, and Rob Hall, Head of Logistics & Industrial EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield.
Recent years have been marked by increased awareness of the challenges organizations face in identifying and putting a value on differences in workplace culture. During the global pandemic, much has been spoken about where we are going to work - much less has been discussed about how this will affect different groups of people. As employees across the globe engage in discussions of racial justice, many organizations are starting to create their own diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) change agendas.
In this podcast Michael Creamer is joined by Kamillah Knight, Director of Diversity and Inclusion at Ferrero, and Rachel Casanova, Senior Managing Director at Cushman & Wakefield, to discuss how organisations can support diversity, equity and inclusion in the way we work and what we mean by "organisational network analysis".
The property industry has long considered investment in sustainability to be important, but often at odds with the profit-driven pressures many companies face. Proactive approaches to increasing sustainability credentials should now be the norm for future-proofing commercial property, creating better long-term returns and satisfying occupier demands and needs.
So what do we mean by ESG? How does sustainability affect property development and property value? What do we mean by "stranded assets"?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Juliette Morgan, Head of Sustainable Development at British Land, and Tim Mockett, Founder Director at GreenPlace Partners.
We are seeing an accelerating pace of technological change across the commercial real estate landscape. Proprietary technologies, historically perceived as clunky and expensive, are being replaced by 'partner first' models. These approaches allow organizations to bring together innovative products from across the industry to create value for their people and customers. How should CRE professionals navigate the latest solutions to help them make better decisions?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Cushman & Wakefield's Adam Stanley, Chief Information Officer & Chief Digital Officer, Norm Doucet, Head of Americas Flexible Workspace and Kathleen Cahill, Head of Global Innovation Hub.
The office is more than just a building – it’s a place where people come together to build connections, collaborate and innovate. The global pandemic has accelerated an evolution of the workplace and forced businesses to reconsider when and how to best use the office in the future, posing the ultimate question: what is the purpose of place?
Cushman & Wakefield partnered with top researchers from George Washington University to explore the history and what we might learn about the future in “Purpose of Place: History and Future of the Office.”
Cushman & Wakefield’s Chief Economist Kevin Thorpe has a conversation on this topic with David C. Smith, Vice President, Global Head of Occupier Research at Cushman & Wakefield, and Christopher Leinberger, Co-Founding Partner & Managing Director at Places Platform, LLC and Former Chair, for the Center for Real Estate & Urban Analysis at George Washington University School of Business.
With 1.5 trillion dollars being spent on India's infrastructure over the next five years, the logistics, industrial and manufacturing sector has a great opportunity to leverage from. But what is the India story? With international business looking seriously at India to take advantage of the world's second largest population - India is a complex and fascinating part of the world, for both investors and occupiers alike.
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Rob Hall, Head of Logistics & Industrial EMEA, Vivek Dahiya, Managing Director, Logistics & Industrial India at Cushman & Wakefield, and Deepak Pahwa, Chairman of the Pahwa Group.
While the way we work has evolved beyond conceivable recognition over the last century, so too has where we work. From Taylorism’ of the early 20th century, workplace design has become a much more cultured process with an increasing focus on creating workplaces that centre around the individual, and that promote not only productivity and efficiency for employers, but also creativity and wellbeing for the their employees.
Dr Amy Thomas is Assistant Professor of the History of Architecture and Urban Planning at Delft University of Technology in the Netherlands. Her research is centred on the relationship between financial processes and the built environment, with a current interest in the history of corporate architecture and workplaces, and the role played by commercial architects and developers.
Amy teaches on themes that include architecture and urbanism in the 19th and 20th century, the history of the architectural profession and architectural historiography.
In this podcast, Amy sat down with Michael Creamer to discuss Evolution of Workplace Design.
The way in which we work effectively has never been more important. While employees are reporting increased levels of productivity working remotely, a lack of face-to-face interactions mean there are limitations to collaboration and many challenges remain.
Now that the "genie is out of the bottle", how should organizations think about designing remote collaboration for an effective distributed workforce?
For this conversation, Michael Creamer was joined by Phanish Puranam, Roland Berger Professor of Strategy & Organization Design, and Marco Minervini, Postdoctoral Fellow, Organizations and Algorithms, both at INSEAD Business School.
Learner, maker, innovator & 3D technology enthusiast, Kadine James is Creative Tech Lead at Hobs 3D and is a prominent UK Tech Evangelist. She is CEO and Founder of the Immersive Kind Collective, a platform which brings together artists and creatives that are using emerging technology in their practice.
In this episode Michael and Kadine discuss the influence that technology is having on property and how we do our jobs in better, more focused ways.
In this episode, Michael Creamer is joined by Gya Adeyemi, EMEA Transaction Manager at Facebook and Alex Burnett, UK Lead for Transaction Management at Cushman & Wakefield.
Gya and Alex discuss their approach to real estate partnerships and how fundamental partnership has been in delivering space for Facebook. Gya talks about her experiences of culture and diversity within the EMEA real estate industry (having moved from Silicon Valley to Dublin in Ireland) and the change being driven by the Black Lives Matter movement.
In our fifth podcast of the “Rebalancing the Work-Life Experience” series we review the successes and challenges of working from home during the COVID-19 pandemic. The foundation of the discussion comes from the results of our bespoke Experience per Square Foot™ (XSF@home) database, which contains over 1.7 million data points from more than 50,000 respondents and allows us to provide unrivaled insights into how employees are coping right now. We specifically focus on issues such as wellbeing, culture and connectivity which are likely to be impacted in the current environment.
Guests: * Despina Katsikakis, Head of Occupier Business Performance at Cushman & Wakefield * Dominic Brown, Head of Insight & Analysis, Asia Pacific at Cushman & Wakefield * Michael Creamer, Chairman, Global Occupier Services at Cushman & Wakefield
Adam Hoy is VP, Head of Worldwide Real Estate & Facilities at GlaxoSmithKline (GSK) having previously held global roles at Nestle and Unilever. In this podcast, part of our 'Leadership' series and recorded prior to the coronavirus pandemic, Adam discuses assembling global teams, managing up as well as managing down, sustainability, productivity and lifelong learning.
In our fourth podcast of the “Rebalancing the Work-Life Experience” series we take a deep dive into the importance of employee health and wellbeing. This issue is critical to the success of any company. Quantitative data from our bespoke Experience per Square Foot™ database clearly identifies the importance of wellbeing and its relationship to bonding with colleagues, motivation and an ability to do one’s best work – all of which are potent drivers of overall workplace experience.
As a result of mandated working from home, workplace challenges have increased with employees needing to manage remote working and care giving responsibilities as well as logistical issues such as adequate workspace environments and sub-par internet connectivity. All take their toll on wellbeing. Leading companies have recognised this and taken an active lead in adopting a people-first approach to provide support, not only in the current remote environment, but also as employees start to transition back into the workplace.
Guests: * Whitney Austin Gray, Senior Vice President at International WELL Building Institute (IWBI) * Steven Zatta, Global Lead Total Workplace Research & Innovation at Cushman & Wakefield
As shops, offices and other venues begin to reopen, helping ensure the safety of the places we’re returning to is top of mind for building owners, managers, workers and visitors. Our latest podcast brings in two facility services experts to talk about which technologies are proven, which are emerging, and which might turn out to be COVID-19 quackery.
Join Michael Creamer, Chairman EMEA for our Global Occupier Services group, as he leads a discussion with Joel P. Wheatley, ME, FMP, Sr. Director, Engineering & Maintenance, and Angel Doyle, Senior Director of Operations, of C&W Services. They’ll help sort the wheat from the chaff when it comes to cleaning and maintenance. Topics include UV light sterilization, nanotechnology, electrostatic spray systems, well building practices for indoor air quality including MERV and HEPPA filters, Ionization systems, and more.
Acronyms used in podcast
- ASHRAE – American Society of Heating, Refrigerating and Air-Conditioning Engineers | https://www.ashrae.org/
- REHVA - The Federation of European Heating, Ventilation and Air Conditioning associations | https://www.rehva.eu/
- CIBSE – Chartered Institution of Building Services Engineers | https://www.cibse.org/
- ASPE - American Society of Plumbing Engineers | https://www.aspe.org/
- IAQ – Indoor Air Quality
- UV-C – Ultraviolet Light (C-Band, 200 – 280 nanometers (nm))
- EPA – United States Environmental Protection Agency (List – N found here: https://www.epa.gov/pesticide-registration/list-n-disinfectants-use-against-sars-cov-2 )
- CDC – Center for Disease Control | http://cdc.gov/
Want more information?
Download our Return to the Workplace guide for Cleaning, Maintenance and Mailroom services, a synopsis of the detailed operations manual and protocols used by C&W Services teams to support clients.
Listen to senior members in a related webcast panel discussion about how we’re partnering with our client teams in the current COVID-19 environment.
In the third podcast of the “Rebalancing the Work-Life Experience” series, our attention shifts to two further drivers of workplace experience: staying informed and collaborative teamwork. Data from our Experience per Square Foot™ database clearly demonstrates that both can be achieved successfully in a remote working environment.
The key link between these two drivers is the availability of easy to use collaborative technology. The data shows this is much more important for collaborative teamwork than face-to-face interaction, regardless of whether employees work in the office or remotely. Similarly, remote workers report higher scores for being informed and for information availability. Simply put, technology is now a more important enabler than ever before.
Guests: * Christian Bigsby, Vice President - Workplace Resources at Cisco * Nicola Gillen, Head of Total Workplace EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield * Michael Creamer (Host), Chairman of Global Occupier Services, EMEA, at Cushman & Wakefield
Dror Poleg is the author of Rethinking Real Estate and the Co-Chair of the Urban Land Institute’s Technology and Innovation Council in New York. His insights on the future of cities and buildings have been featured in publications and events by the Wall Street Journal, Forbes, Moody’s, PwC, KPMG, and others.
Find out more about Rethinking Real Estate.
In the second podcast of the “Rebalancing the Work-Life Experience” series, we focus on two key qualities of a successful workplace: leadership and culture. Analysis from our bespoke Experience per Square Foot™ database demonstrably shows that culture is a tier-1 driver of workplace experience. Employees that have the strongest connection to company culture have the most positive workplace experience.
We also know that culture starts from the top, which is why culture and leadership are so entwined. In the current climate of managing distributed workforces, it is more important than ever for leaders to not only engage and inspire but also to trust. The combination of these three factors drives a culture that not only encourages, but also empowers employees to be their best.
Guests: * Mike Eichenwald, Senior Client Partner at Korn Ferry * Rachel Casanova, Senior Managing Director, Workplace Innovation at Cushman & Wakefield
Access to digitized global data has become critical in executing business continuity plans in the face of the pandemic.
In this podcast, our guests discuss how portfolio administration has helped occupiers understand all aspects of their real estate portfolios in the eye of the COVID-19 storm and leverage data to develop reactive portfolio strategies.
Among the topics addressed by the podcast are the following: * How is portfolio administration directly helping clients work through the impacts of COVID-19? * What is the role of global data in business continuity planning? * How will portfolio administration need to evolve in the future? * Will leases fundamentally change, with things like force majeure becoming front and centre? * What can we learn from APAC and EMEA given their stages of the response?
Guests: * Brett Abrams, Global Head of Portfolio Administration * Kimberley Burn, Head of Lease Administration, EMEA * Nick Seaton, Head of Integrated Portfolio Management, South East Asia
The rapid spread of the coronavirus globally has placed many corporates on an accelerated path of enacting remote working universally across their workforce. This inevitably will place strain on existing systems, take employees out of their established routines and require development of new processes among a myriad of other challenges.
In light of this Cushman & Wakefield have developed a new series of podcasts, specifically focusing on rebalancing the work life experience during the pandemic.
In this first podcast, Despina Katsikakis, Head of Occupier Business Performance, and Dominic Brown, Head of Insight & Analysis, Asia Pacific, provide a fundamental grounding of remote working through a three-stage approach, backed up by quantitative data analysis from our bespoke Experience per Square Foot™ (XSF) database and real-world experiences.
In this podcast Michael is joined by Toby Ogden, Chief Commercial Officer at The Office Group and Emma Swinnerton, EMEA Head of Flexible Workspace at Cushman & Wakefield, to discuss What's Next in Flexible Workspace.
Toby and Emma discuss how the flexible workspace market continues to evolve in response to changing occupier needs and how a B2C mindset is enabling operators to provide spaces that drive value for the users of buildings.
Nick O'Donnell is Director of Estates & Facilities at King's College London - a portfolio spanning five campuses, four million square feet, 160 buildings and more than 30,000 daily users. He has previously held senior roles at the Financial Times, Microsoft, Seagram and HSBC.
In this 'spotlight' podcast, Nick discusses how traditional corporate occupier challenges manifest within the university sector, planning for complex spaces, and how the university uses property to attract world class talent in a competitive market.
In this first episode of our 'Spotlight' series, Michael was joined by Mary-Louise Gray, Real Estate and Facilities Director (EMEA) at Microsoft and Caroline Gardiner, Strategic Head of Integrated Facilities Management (EMEA) at Cushman & Wakefield, to discuss What's Next in Facilities Management.
Mary-Louise and Caroline discuss creating different environments that give people choice, create workplace culture and attract talent; how technology is being used to navigate the whole user journey; and lessons learned from the hotel industry in order to improve the 'experience' for employees and users.
Despina Katsikakis is an industry leader with an international reputation for thought leadership and innovation on the future of work and the impact of workplace on organisational transformation, people and business performance.
Despina has over 35 years' experience of leading innovation, research and implementation of transformative business environments and exemplary real estate developments worldwide.
In this podcast Despina discusses understanding the user in order to influence building development, inspiring employees for high performance and blurring the boundaries between work, life & play.
Despina is Head of Occupier Business Performance at Cushman & Wakefield. Find out more: https://www.cushmanwakefield.com/en/united-states/services/global-occupier-services/total-workplace
James Maddock is Head of Global Occupier Services (GOS) for EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield, having previously led teams in Bahrain, as well as London West End Agency and Tenant Representation.
In this podcast, James draws on 30 years' experience to discuss leadership - from 'learning on the job', building diverse teams and story-telling - to attempting to swim every Olympic sized pool in the world.
Irene Masterton is the Finance Group Estates Director at Department for Work and Pensions (British Government). She has previously held senior global roles at Shell International Petroleum, Standard Chartered Bank, BT and Computer Sciences Corporation.
In this third podcast in our 'Leadership' series, Irene discusses putting together global teams, surrounding yourself with experts, managing attention from the C-Suite and transitioning from the private to the public sector.
It’s difficult to predict the future of an industry, but Brad Kreiger, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer at Cushman & Wakefield, understands the future of marketing begins with authentic storytelling.
In this podcast Brad discusses his experiences of the real estate industry, how different generations are shaping the workplace, why digital marketing drives value and how companies will need to adapt to stay ahead.
Ben Almond has held a variety of Global COO and corporate real estate roles over a 30 year career across Finance, Investment Banking and Real Estate.
He is currently Global Head of Property at Pearson. In this podcast Ben talks about leadership values in the context of being a CRE leader in today’s changing workplace environment and what he has learned about the importance of respect, trust, bravery, empowerment and even conflict!
Ben talks about an exciting new approach to experienced-based workplace projects that he is driving and colors it all with anecdotes and stories from his passion for judo.
Diana Foxlee qualified as a chartered management accountant at ICI Paints before moving to Sky carrying out various finance roles over seven years. She became the Head of Real Estate three years ago.
In this podcast Diana talks about how her understanding of Sky, having supported different areas of the business, has stood her in good stead to take on a role in property.
Mary-Louise Gray has had multiple roles over her 25 year career in real estate, both at a global and regional level.
Mary-Louise is currently Head of EMEA Real Estate Team at Microsoft
Louise Rushmer has had a 19 year career in Property and Facilities Management and has held various Global roles mainly within the Financial Services sector.
In this podcast Louise talks about the interesting career path that took her from the National Theatre to where she is today and the importance of a strong network with colleagues, peers and supplier partners.
Michael and Louise discuss various workplace cultures and how that can influence a property strategy.
Alison Rankin has had a 20 year career across consulting and within corporate real estate teams in the oil and gas, and banking sectors.
In this podcast Alison talks about the diversity of roles she has had and how she has built her career starting as a graduate surveyor in private practice, to her current role as Global Head of Workplace Services at Schroders.
Alison and Michael debate the skills required for a career in corporate real estate and how being attuned to cultural awareness, strong networks, planning and good shoes all play their part.
Alison studied Economic and Social History at the University of Glasgow, gained a postgraduate qualification in Land Economy from the University of Aberdeen and is a Chartered General Practice Surveyor.
Lynn Fitzpatrick trained as a General Practice Chartered Surveyor, however moved into the corporate real estate field in 2002, transitioning from service provider to client (end-user) in 2013.
Lynn is currently Head of the EMEA Real Estate Services team at Mastercard.
Lisa Bentley left University with a History & Politics degree working initially in a valuation agency office, while at the same time studying for a further degree in property valuation and management.
She subsequently worked for NatWest Bank, Ford and most recently GE, having developed her career with a small number of well-known companies.
In this podcast Lisa talks about the importance of resilience at work, having a family and balancing that with a career, as well as being well prepared, knowing your facts and being curious.