Asset Services Insights

Since your time with the CIA has

ended, I have to assume, despite

your current role with Cushman &

Wakefield, that you find it hard to pull

away from being actively involved in the

intelligence and security community.

I do miss the mission, but I did my bit and

now it’s somebody else’s turn. But you’re

right—once you’ve been on the “inside,”

it’s hard just to walk away.

My familiarity with the world of

intelligence, and now with the business

of commercial real estate, has put me

in the unique position of helping the

government understand what the private

sector’s information needs are in order

to better protect critical infrastructure

assets. I am one of a handful of people

in the commercial facilities sector, which

includes commercial real estate, with

TOP SECRET security clearances that

enable me to read classified terrorism

intelligence. I act as a sort of translator to

make sure our property managers, and

the industry as a whole, understand what

the current threat level really is, without

revealing the intelligence that it is based

on, and translate their information needs

into requirements that are tasked back to

the intelligence community.

Also, I was asked to participate on a

White House study on government

intelligence sharing with the private

sector to help protect critical

infrastructure, so I’m still involved to

some extent.

Why is the Global Security and

Resilience platform so important

to the company, and Asset Services in

particular?

The commercial real estate business

has changed dramatically since 9/11.

After the World Trade Center towers

were destroyed, companies realized

that if they were denied access to their

corporate real estate assets, or if the

assets went offline for whatever reason,

they were in grave danger. Likewise, the

government realized the risk this posed

to the economy as a whole.

The government began to require

publicly traded companies and those

in regulated industries to meet certain

business continuity standards, central

of which is that companies must be able

to continue to provide their essential

services throughout any disruptive

incident.

Since most of our clients at Cushman

& Wakefield are held to those business

continuity standards, we have to certify

we meet them as well. Therefore, one of

my primary corporate responsibilities

is to develop a new business continuity

program for the new, merged platform,

to update it as the organization changes

over time and to ensure that it is

regularly tested. The program includes

three basic components: an emergency

preparedness and response program

for our corporate offices; a crisis

management process to manage major

disruptive incidents affecting Cushman

& Wakefield or our managed properties;

and the periodic conduct of a Business

Impact Analysis that identifies all of the

critical business processes that Cushman

& Wakefield provides its internal and

external stakeholders and ensure that

each is sufficiently resilient so that we

can continue to provide them during

major disruptive incidents.

The Asset Services business has certainly

felt the impact of the industry’s shift.

Building owners recognize that loss of

access to their real estate assets, or

disruptions in critical services, can have

enormous impacts on their bottom

line and create potential regulatory or

contractual liabilities. As a result, the

previous practice of maintaining a basic

emergency action plan for a property

morphed into the broader practice of

business continuity; the resilience of all

critical building operations and systems

must be assessed and fortified to ensure

the possibility of disruption is minimized.

How does our Global Security and

Resilience platform differentiate

our Asset Services platform among our

competitors?

During my time at legacy Cushman &

Wakefield, and after I established my

own consulting firm, I provided security,

emergency preparedness, and response

and business continuity consulting

services to Cushman & Wakefield’s

clients and then to my own. Much of

the work I did focused on identifying

the actual risks properties face, and

I conducted dozens of all-hazard risk

assessments on properties both here

and abroad. These analyses then formed

the basis for the security, emergency

preparedness and response, and

business continuity programs for each

property. Our ability to help our clients

understand the risk environment in which

their assets operate and how to navigate

those risks is one of our more significant

differentiators.

What excites you most about our

Asset Services business?

Asset Services manages some of the

most iconic properties in the world.

Whether it is the Transamerica Pyramid

in San Francisco or the Kingdom

Tower in Saudi Arabia, it is an honor

for Cushman & Wakefield to be chosen

among a field of very competent firms

to manage these assets. I find the

opportunity to support Asset Services

in helping to protect these magnificent

properties and their occupants very

exciting and rewarding.

I DO MISS THE

MISSION

, BUT I DID

MY BIT AND NOW

IT’S SOMEBODY

ELSE’S TURN. BUT

YOU’RE RIGHT –

ONCE YOU’VE BEEN

ON THE “INSIDE”,

ITS HARD JUST TO

WALK AWAY.