LOS ANGELES—CBRE's South Bay has tapped its first female lead. The mega brokerage firm has named Jodie Poirier as managing director of South Bay operations. In the new role, she will oversee the office's advisory and transactions, capital markets and enterprise facilities management. To find out more about Poirier's plans for the office and what it means to be the first female managing director of one of the firm's biggest regions, we sat down with Poirier for an exclusive interview.

GlobeSt.com: Congratulations on becoming the first female managing director to head an office in one of CBRE's biggest regions. Tell me about your journey as a female executive in this business, and if you think you have carved a different path to success?

Jodie Poirier: Thank you! I believe everyone has their own unique path. After college I learned the fundamentals of sales knocking door-to-door, selling educational books for a summer as an independent contractor for a book publishing company. From there I entered sales with Pulte Group and spent 5 years in real estate development (of master planned communities). I went back to grad school, coincidentally timed with the financial crisis. My thesis was actually on women leaders in commercial real estate: Female leaders in commercial real estate: to the women following in their footsteps. This allowed me to meet and speak with key female executives across the industry – and learn about their individual paths. Post grad school included office brokerage at JLL and then a leadership position at Colliers in Brokerage Services. I joined CBRE in 2015. Along my path, I've been extremely fortunate to have mentors – both male and female who have been instrumental in helping me grow. I'm fortunate to have many here now at CBRE.

GlobeSt.com: Why do you think there are so few females in your role in this business, and do you think that is changing?

Poirier: Historically, commercial real estate has been a male-dominated industry. That is slowly changing though the female population is still vastly underrepresented across the industry, especially on the transactional side of the business as well as leadership. I think it is slowly changing with an emphasis on slowly. However, I feel fortunate to be at CBRE where there are myriad examples of successful women—in both the transactional and leadership side of the business (one of my mentors, Laura O'Brien was a successful brokerage professional and now leads Global Sales Management Operations AND is a member of the Executive Team). I think this is due to the fact that we make a concerted effort to recruit, retain and support women – and this effort extends throughout all levels of our organization.

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals for the South Bay office?

Poirier: To help our professionals grow their business and deliver exceptional outcomes to our clients. Grow our bench of talent. Facilitate connectivity for our professionals to the incredible tools, technology and resources that CBRE has and continues to invest in.

GlobeSt.com: You have focused on occupier deals. How has this been challenging in a tight market like the South Bay?

Poirier: In my prior role at CBRE, I was focused on pursuing large occupier business across the U.S. In a tight market, such as the South Bay industrial, it's definitely challenging for tenants looking for new or additional space. Options are limited to nonexistent, depending on size and class of product. So the earlier we can get out in the market, the better. Knowledge of off-market opportunities and true local market knowledge are key in helping our clients.

GlobeSt.com: Why do you think there are so few females in your role in this business, and do you think that is changing?

GlobeSt.com: What are your goals for the South Bay office?

GlobeSt.com: You have focused on occupier deals. How has this been challenging in a tight market like the South Bay?

Instant Insights /

CBRE Names First Female Exec in South Bay

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