Cushman & Wakefield hires Robert Thornburgh to lead Southwest

Cushman & Wakefield has snagged the head of an office and industrial brokers group to lead its Southwest office, based in Los Angeles.

The Chicago-based brokerage hired Robert Thornburgh to head up the office in charge of Southern California, Nevada, Phoenix, Colorado, Utah and Idaho, Commercial Observer reported.

Thornburgh formerly served as CEO of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, representing more than 4,000 industrial and office brokers, where he worked since 2021.

From his new L.A. desk at Cushman & Wakefield, he reports to Victoria Malkin, president of its Americas Markets.

Thornburgh is tasked with recruiting, employee development, forming partnerships, improving client services and growing Cushman’s presence across the Southwest and into Idaho, according to the firm.

His “significant experience and expertise of brokerage operations and the fundamentals of our industry, combined with his service-oriented approach to clients, will help propel our business forward, in the Southwest and across the Americas,” Malkin said in a statement.

At the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, Thornburgh was credited with a strategic plan that improved member retention, drove up membership and boosted brand recognition throughout the industry.

Prior to SIOR, he served as a regional president and executive at Kidder Matthews. He was president and CEO of Heger Industrial, a full-service industrial real estate company which managed one of the largest industrial portfolios in greater Los Angeles, before it merged with Kidder Mathews in 2017, according to the Observer.

Thornburgh also still runs R3 Investments, an investment company he founded in the mid-1990s.

Cushman & Wakefield has 52,000 employees in nearly 400 offices in 60 countries, according to a release. In 2023, the firm reported revenue of $9.5 billion.

— Dana Bartholomew