Cushman & Wakefield’s New Chief on Fighting ‘Silo Mentality’
By Tom Acitelli June 18, 2010 12:11 pm
reprints
Cushman & Wakefield’s new CEO and president, Glenn Rufrano, sat down with The Commercial Observer‘s Jotham Sederstrom on June 14 in his 1290 Avenue of the Americas office for his first big media interview since taking the brokerage’s helm in April. Mr. Rufrano was asked about the supposed silo mentality of Cushman & Wakefield (CWK), cited by competitors, who say the brokerage’s various departments and even individual employees do not play well together.
Mr. Rufrano was frank and proactive in his response. “I think, in part, this company, and probably many other companies—especially over the last few years—have created silo mentalities to survive,” he said. “Here, we have a bit of that, whether it’s a global silo issue or national. But we have people and employees and associates who understand that to compete long-term you need to take the full power of the company brand to try to maximize itself at any given point. And my running around the globe, there’s no doubt about that. Now it’s a question of how you get people to work together.”
The fuller interview, in which Mr. Rufrano also discusses changes he’d like to see at Cushman & Wakefield, will be published in next week’s Commercial Observer.
The comments also came the day before The New York Times reported that Mr. Rufrano said Cushman & Wakefield, the world’s largest privately held commercial brokerage, may, in the long-term, consider an initial public offering.
