Edward Forst, former CEO of Cushman & Wakefield and a veteran executive in the finance and real estate sectors, has been nominated by the White House to serve as the next administrator of the General Services Administration. If confirmed by the Senate, Forst would succeed Robin Carnahan, who left the post in January 2025 amid the transition to Donald Trump’s second presidential term.
The nomination comes during a period of substantial change at the GSA, the federal agency responsible for managing government real estate and procurement. Under the current administration’s stringent cost-cutting and downsizing directives, the GSA has become a focal point for federal workforce reductions and consolidation efforts. Notably, Michael Peters, former commissioner of the agency's Public Buildings Service who oversaw the government’s real estate portfolio, resigned last month, leaving Forst poised to guide the agency through ongoing reorganization efforts.
Since the start of Trump’s second term, the GSA has eliminated nearly 1,000 positions—amounting to 8.6% of its previous workforce, as estimated by CNN’s federal government overhaul tracker. Meanwhile, according to data from Avison Young’s Federal Property Pulse, 384 office leases totaling over 4.8 million square feet have been canceled, representing approximately 2.72% of its leased properties. The largest reductions have occurred in Washington, D.C. (1.45 million square feet), with significant cuts in Virginia, Ohio, Maryland and California as well.
Forst, who most recently chaired the British private equity firm Lion Capital, brings extensive executive experience to the role. In addition to his tenure at Cushman & Wakefield from 2014 to 2015, he has served as an advisor to Fenway Partners, held senior leadership roles at Goldman Sachs for over 17 years—including as general partner and co-CEO of Goldman Sachs Asset Management—and was the principal operating officer at Harvard University during the global financial crisis. Forst also acted as adviser to the Secretary of the U.S. Department of the Treasury.
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