John C. Cushman III
Cushman & Wakefield
John C. Cushman III is a leader in the commercial real estate industry on a global basis. As Chairman of the Board of Cushman & Wakefield, Inc., he is responsible for formulating and articulating strategic policies and initiatives for the company on a domestic and global basis. Prior to becoming Chairman of the Board of Cushman & Wakefield, he was acknowledged by a variety of media sources as the top office leasing broker in the country. Cushman & Wakefield is the world’s largest private commercial real estate firm, with 231 offices in 58 countries on 6 continents and more than 15,000 employees.
Mr. Cushman began his career with Cushman & Wakefield in 1963 in New York City. In 1967, he moved to Los Angeles to open Cushman & Wakefield’s office in Southern California. He and his twin brother, Louis B. Cushman, started their own firm in 1978, Cushman Realty Corporation, which they grew from 2 offices to operations in 11 US cities. In 2001 Cushman Realty Corporation merged with Cushman & Wakefield.
Mr. Cushman negotiated the largest office lease in the world – the world headquarters of Merrill Lynch & Company involving 4 million square feet (initial occupancy) at the World Financial Center in New York City. He also completed headquarters relocations for many of America’s largest corporations and institutions, including Burlington Northern, Inc. (Seattle), UBS PaineWebber, Inc. (New York City), Atlantic Richfield Company (Los Angeles), Unocal Corporation (Los Angeles) and The Boeing Company (Chicago), Mr. Cushman recently completed a two-year term as National President of the Boy Scouts of America and President of the Boy Scouts of America Foundation. He currently serves as a member of the Boy Scout’s National Executive Board. Mr. Cushman is a Vice Chairman of the Board of the California Region I Homeland Security Advisory Council, in 2004 was appointed by Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger to the California Commission on Jobs and Economic Growth, and most recently was appointed to Mayor Villaraigosa’s Los Angeles Economy and Jobs Committee. Mr. Cushman is a Director of the National Park Foundation and The Real Estate Roundtable and a Trustee of the Urban Land Institute, all headquartered in Washington, DC. Additionally, Mr. Cushman serves as Trustee Emeritus of Colgate University and as an honorary member of the Board of Fellows of Claremont University Center, and he was formerly a Director of the Claremont Graduate School, a member of the Colorado University Boulder College of Business Advisory Board and a member of the Advisory Council of the University of Southern California LUSK Center for Real Estate. In May 2008, he received an honorary doctorate degree from Colgate University and in November 2008 he received the 2008 Lifetime Achievement Award from Commercial Property News.
His directorships include Cushman & Wakefield, Inc. (Chairman of the Board), Callaway Golf Company, iCRETE LLC (Co-Chairman) and ARTOC Universal Properties (Co-Chairman) in Cairo, Egypt. He also serves as Chairman and Director of Zaca Mesa Winery in Santa Barbara County, California. Over the years, Mr. Cushman has served on the boards of 14 public corporations.
