Sam Hoffman, 28

The pandemic taught important lessons to many up-and-coming brokers. In the case of Sam Hoffman, who became a director at Cushman & Wakefield last year, he used the downtime to methodically study New York’s commercial real estate market: who owns what, the advantages of niche submarkets, and how large firms built their portfolios. 

Hoffman has always been attracted to the personalities and business plans — he was intrigued seeing nascent tech startups pitch their plans during his C&W internships in 2019 and 2018 while attending Trinity College — and he feels it’s translated to having a better handle on business development and valuing assets as he’s become more experienced with office leasing.

“New York specifically has such a deep talent pool,” said Hoffman. “From a relationship standpoint, I’ve seen certain senior brokers stand out, and have really tried to emulate their approach to winning business, and that’s what really gets me going.”

After hitting the ground running after graduating in 2019, Hoffman has risen through the ranks to become an office leader and an international broker, with about 15 percent of his work taking place in European markets. 

Currently, his role is strictly business development and client retention, so in the last 18 months he’s been more involved with getting deals over the finish line. These included a deal last year at 1410 Broadway for tech firm Grata’s new office, or the renewal of the Writers Guild of America East headquarters lease at 250 Hudson Street.

At the end of last year, Hoffman helped close a deal for 40,000 square feet across two buildings in London’s prestigious St. James Square for global hedge fund Point72.  

“Because of the demand, there just wasn’t much wiggle room on the lease, and it was tough to keep competitors away,” he said, “because it was such a highly sought-after tenant.”