Toby Dodd

With the world constantly changing, how has your job, or client’s job changed over the past 10 years?
Globalization has completely transformed our industry through the growth in emerging markets, specifically the BRICs economies, and the international and diverse flow of both talent and capital. Much of this being enabled through advances in technology.

Emerging markets have fueled global growth and changes in the way our clients do business. The firm provided me with the opportunity to live in two of these markets, China and Vietnam, and work with clients in over a dozen other emerging markets globally. Through these experiences, I’ve seen talent become infinitely more diverse and mobile. While I led the Singapore business, we totaled 13 different nationalities with over 70% women.

Capital has followed a very similar path, both for our occupier and investor clients, across markets and asset classes. Working with these global clients has developed my understanding of how they analyze opportunities and the importance of managing risk.

Lastly, technology has enabled this globalization through greater connectivity and productivity gains, but we are only in the first innings. The real disruption will come in the next 10 years through big data, artificial intelligence, machine learning and robotics, and it’s great to be in New York, a global hub for PropTech.

We are much more interconnected and interdependent than ever before, but regardless of all these changes, there is one constant. We’re a long-term relationship business, it’s all about the people.

C&W has one of the most interesting growth stories in our industry. How has our recent momentum made an impact on your role or created opportunities for you?
Over the past 10 years, C&W’s growth gave me the opportunity to open our business in Vietnam from scratch, turn around and build our business in Singapore, develop a new service line across Asia Pacific for Agency Leasing, and relocate to New York, the world’s most exciting city for real estate at the center of PropTech. The firm’s growth has not only spurred my professional achievements, but also my personal experiences living around the world.
What solution, achievement or moment are you most proud of while either working at Cushman & Wakefield, or in your personal life?
I’m incredibly proud of the teams and businesses we built across Asia Pacific, and the landmark deals and projects we completed for clients globally. I’m now delighted to be part of our team here in the U.S., and excited about the next chapter!

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