Clark Finney, an associate at Cushman & Wakefield, proved his mettle in REBNY's view. He was presented with the yearly award by Studley's William Montana, chairman of REBNY's commercial board, at the association's biannual luncheon last Wednesday. To hear Finney tell it, the accolade was a product of the training his C&W mentors provided him.

"I learned from my team—specifically, my senior partners John Cefaly, Bob Lowe and Gus Field," Finney tells GlobeSt.com. When he began his tenure at C&W three years ago, "we were at the height of the market, and now arguably we're at the bottom. But nothing has changed in terms of my day-to-day work ethic and the way that I attack each day and each problem. That's a result of how they trained me to take a very methodical, analytical approach." The self-starter acumen that has impressed Finney's colleagues was something he brought to the equation, having co-founded a web-based financial services tool called Marketclocks.com upon his graduation from Washington and Lee University in 2006.

However, Finney acknowledges that the changing market conditions did call upon different skills than were required at the 2007 peak, especially as his senior partners made him point person on several major accounts. "In 2009, I had to focus my efforts to come out with results that I did," he says. "I had to dig in and understand my client's business as best as possible: how what they do impacts their results and is reflected in the real estate they require."

A notable example of the results Finney achieved, cited in the REBNY presentation, was the work he did in '09 for Nest Fragrances. "They wanted to double or triple the amount of space they had, because they were growing, but didn't want to spend any more money on an annual basis," says Finney. "In my first two years, it wasn't as much of a concern; you weren't faced with having to accomplish those relocations into different submarkets as often." Today, however, that kind of cost-consciousness is "at the top the list for most clients."

Finney's solution for Nest Fragrances was to come up with submarkets that his client hadn't thought of. One of those areas, the Chelsea submarket, is home to the Starrett-Lehigh Building at 601 W. 26th St., and Finney arranged a 13,000-square-foot deal on favorable terms at the 2.2-million-square-foot behemoth, adding Nest to a fashionable tenant roster that also includes Hugo Boss and Club Monaco.

In all, Finney has played an integral role in completing approximately 335,000 square feet of lease transactions since joining C&W. Currently, he's involved in 2.2 million square feet of ongoing, high-level projects with his team.

As winner of the Most Promising Commercial Salesperson of the Year Award, Finney receives a one-year seat on the REBNY board of governors. In addition, he will become a lifetime member in REBNY's Circle of Winners group, which meets four times a year for a private dinner. According to REBNY, the award was created to recognize current and potential professional achievement in a young commercial salesperson new to the industry, as well as to recognize "high moral character and ethical professional behavior."

Instant Insights /

Trial By Fire

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