CBRE's Spencer Levy Named Global Chief Client Officer

Spencer Levy has worn a lot of hats over the course of his 25-year career in commercial real estate, and he is donning another one without taking the last one off.

Levy has been appointed to the position of global chief client officer at CBRE, the company told Bisnow on Wednesday. He will remain in his post as senior economic advisor, where he has served as a senior executive in the research division of the largest commercial real estate services firm in the world.

“It’s a significant expansion of role," Levy told Bisnow. "We were very intentional about keeping one foot in research, because when we give advice, it’s data-based, it’s analytics-based, and [the new position] connects me more directly with clients to inform them with the research element.”

Levy is stepping up to replace Scott Marshall, who left the post of global chief client officer at CBRE for a position at another commercial real estate company that has yet to be announced. 

Levy's ascension to the position will come with a broadening of its role, as CBRE's Client Care division was focused on the investor/property owner side. Client Care will now be equally focused on the occupier side, Levy said, and for both groups, it provides advisory services that go beyond real estate transactions. Client Care takes an investor or occupier's entire business model and integrates it with a general real estate strategy.

"The critical part of this role is that I’m on both sides of the house," Levy said. "I can see the trends for the largest occupiers and the trends for larger investors and bring them together.”

Levy has served as a senior executive of CBRE's Americas research team since 2014, during which time he has been one of the firm's most public figures, representing CBRE in news interviews, panel discussions, industry events and the company's Weekly Take podcast. Before he moved into research, Levy had been in its capital markets division for seven years, reaching the position of executive managing director. Prior to joining CBRE, Levy was an investment banker and attorney.

“Each of the things I’ve done leading to this point has not only allowed me to establish relationships with a lot of people in this business but given me all the tools to bring to bear on our client relationships,” Levy said.

CORRECTION, MAY 5, 6:10 P.M. ET: A previous version of this article misstated Levy's position within CBRE's research division. This article has been updated.