Mitchell Steir and Mitchell Rudin
Mitchell Steir and Mitchell Rudin
Former Chairman and CEO; Current Chairman and CEO at Savills North America
Last year's rank: 35
To the list of words used to describe Mitch Steir (“tenacious” and “boyish” both keep coming up) add one more: “retired.” Steir had a powerhouse career as a tenants’ broker. He leased 1.5 million square feet for Time Inc. in 1999, and represented a plethora of law firms including Wachtell Lipton, Jones Day and WilmerHale. One of his most complex deals was in 2002, when he led the management buyout of Savills North America predecessor firm Julien J. Studley Inc., herding 45 of the firm’s managers and brokers into contributing equity for the purchase.
He passed the torch last month as Chairman and CEO of the tenant-representation brokerage and was replaced by another Mitch: Mitchell Rudin, a CBRE, Brookfield and Mack-Cali veteran who joined Savills in 2018.
Rudin (of no relation to Rudin Management’s Bill Rudin) practiced law for seven years before switching his career path to real estate. A former basketball player in college, Mitch Rudin retains a highly competitive spirit. At Brookfield, he presided over the regeneration of the World Financial Center into Brookfield Place. At Mack-Cali, he led the revamping of the firm’s portfolio; investors approved, sending the stock price up 58 percent in the two years that he was CEO.
Now, he takes the helm in unprecedented times as firms and their workforces reconsider the role of the office.
Savills North America has, however, closed major leasing transactions during the pandemic, including 85,000 square feet for PolicyGenius at 32 Old Slip in the Seaport area and 82,000 square feet for the National Endowment for Democracy in Washington, D.C.
This in addition to the firm’s brokers producing one of the best work-from-home videos ever, which shows various Savills brokers around the country in their home office (and sometimes car office) setups.
In an email, Rudin said: “My career in this industry has spanned over 30 years, and I have always appreciated and respected the company’s culture, including its commitment to ensuring diversity across its business and fostering inclusivity. Savills is very well-positioned to capitalize on a broad range of opportunities to grow our platform and continue to diversify and enhance our services.”—A.R.
