Scott Wiley, president and CEO of CoreNet Global, surveys a commercial real estate landscape in flux—one shaped by economic headwinds, rapid technological transformation, and evolving expectations for workplaces. But beneath the well-worn narrative of uncertainty and challenge, Wiley sees a future defined not by retrenchment, but by reinvention and opportunity.
During a wide-ranging interview with GlobeSt.com, Wiley outlined how the sector’s biggest hurdles, from global trade tensions to volatile supply chains, are giving birth to new ways of thinking about real estate’s purpose and design. “The current global tariff environment, ongoing supply chain disruptions are significantly impacting the corporate real estate industry,” he said, emphasizing how businesses today must navigate increased costs and delays. Yet, for Wiley, each challenge unlocks “three new opportunities.”
One of the most promising frontiers he described is the integration of advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence. Wiley called leadership in AI and technology “the biggest area we’re having conversations with our members about right now,” describing a sector where optimizing space utilization, deploying talent creatively, and responding to tenant needs with flexibility have become top priorities. Drawing from CoreNet's recent research initiative, he noted the rise of workplaces that prioritize both flexibility and function—environments adaptable to shifting business requirements and the needs of a new generation of workers.
Corporate real estate leaders, Wiley observed, are increasingly focused on how to use these emerging technologies to drive value — not just for their companies — but for the employees who animate these spaces. Rather than designing “traditional offices,” he pointed to a new model visible in projects like a recently opened half-million-square-foot facility outside Dallas, built with the next generation of talent in mind.
“They’re designing a workplace environment where they can deliver great amounts of value for their customers in the market that they serve, but…they’re prioritizing their number one asset: their people,” he explained.
This focus on people extends to the core of what Wiley sees as the shifting equilibrium in real estate strategy. While some are still trimming their office footprints, many are simply reimagining space for future needs—spaces built for collaboration, innovation and hybrid work.
“There is no one-size-fits-all strategy,” he said, pointing out that strategies must adapt to the ways Gen Z and younger generations learn and work.
The macroeconomic context looms large over these transformations, with high interest rates, inflation, and geopolitical shifts reshaping not only costs but also how executives make decisions. Wiley acknowledged widespread uncertainty but insisted that a pause isn’t a long-term option for businesses hoping to stay competitive. He framed the current moment as one of transition, where the speed of change is, if anything, accelerating.
“Business likes certainty. The markets like certainty. And right now we have a great deal of uncertainty in the global business environment, and uncertainty causes people to wait, to slow down, to pause, to not make decisions. And that's happening in a period of rapid transformation in the business environment, when that's really not a long-term option that executives have.”
Meanwhile, several clear trends are emerging in the overall landscape of uncertainty. Hybrid and flexible workplaces are here to stay, and the demand for sustainable, tech-forward and employee-centric environments is rising. Wiley said clients are paying close attention to workplace sustainability, circularity, and the environmental impact of their properties. As certain office portfolios shrink, others—such as manufacturing, industrial, and data center real estate—are booming, creating new arenas for innovation and growth.
Wiley is particularly keen on the theme that corporate real estate’s future lies in collaborative leadership and upskilling. With a projected global talent shortfall on the horizon, he argues, the biggest winners will be those who embrace change—investing in new technologies, adapting to talent needs, and forging ecosystems that turn risk into resilience. “Everyone’s talking about the two T’s: tech and talent,” he said. “Tech is uprooting everything…[and] there’s going to be a global talent shortage, projected at 85 million people by 2030.”
For the leaders CoreNet serves, the defining challenge is also the greatest opportunity: to harness disruption for positive change. “It’s not a time of steady as we go. It’s a time of, there’s a lot coming at us, and it’s exciting, but it’s also one where we’ve got to bring the entirety of the industry together to really navigate this together, and that’s what we’re focused on doing,” Wiley concluded. In a world where so much is still unknown, Wiley’s message rings clear—the future belongs to those willing to lead through transformation.
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