News
YESTERDAY WITH BRUCE
February 5, 2010
| We dropped by yesterday afternoon to see Cushman & Wakefield CEO Bruce Mosler in his 7th floor office on 6th Avenue and ask what he’ll be up to in less than 50 days when he turns the CEO duties over to Centro’s Glenn Rufrano. And of course we had to snap some pics. |
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| Bruce will remain full time co-chair of the 10-member board with John Cushman. He plans no vacation, and no let up in his sometimes 120-day a year travel schedule. But he might just have a little extra time to drive the 40 minutes to Montauk from his place in East Hampton for his beloved deep-sea fishing 100 miles offshore in his 38-foot Contender. During the week, he’ll devote himself to strategizing and high value biz dev, especially in NYC, London, and China. As third largest stockholder, he says he has huge faith in Cushman’s future and equal passion to see it succeed. Bruce says there may be an announcement next week about a large portfolio he's helped get them the assignment to lease. |
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| Bruce came to Cushman in the late '90s, served as head of US operations, and started Jan 1, 2005 as president and CEO, saying he’d spend five years in the role; he’d already proved himself as a broker bringing H&M to the US and Reuters to Times Square. In the course of five years at the helm, he led the firm from $800M in sales to $2.1 billion at the peak and even now in a down economy still $1.5 billion. Moreover, he emphasized globalization, and revenue went from 80% domestic to 50/50 now, through acquisition and growth in Asia. Over the years, he visited most of their 231 offices in 58 countries meeting many of their 15,000 employees. |
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| Bruce grew up at 1035 Fifth Ave and 10 Gracie Square and revered his father, who ran the Mosler Safe Company (see product sample above). To this day he vividly remembers two pieces of philosophy his father imparted: First, you are the sum of your friends—chose them wisely. And: You meet the same people going down the ladder as you did going up, so be considerate. He learned fishing and boating with him in Montauk. “It’s relaxing,” he says. “My form of golfing.” |
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| Another passion is supporting the Intrepid Museum on the Hudson, where in 2001 with Mayor Giuliani and Governor Pataki he was honored at a dinner for their mission to support the families and memory of those who make the ultimate sacrifice. Just recently in San Antonio on business, he made a point of seeing the Museum’s work there with amputees and burn victims. As for business, and despite the bumpy economy, he says January results were good; many firms succeeded in reducing expenses over the last couple years, but he hopes the “disconnect” will soon end between the financial services sector and DC. He looks forward to more time to “eat local” on his overseas travels, as he did recently with the vice mayor of Shanghai, and even taking colleagues farther out of town, as he did once in Delhi to a 1000-year-old fort on a rare occasion when he could spend more than 48 hours in a city. And maybe lunching with Rufrano some more at the Rockefeller Center Café. |
