CBRE’s new retail leasing chief: ‘Opportunities are limitless’

High construction costs and interest rates notwithstanding, CBRE’s newly appointed retail tenant and investor leasing chief said that she could not be more optimistic about the new and varied opportunities opening up in retail real estate.

“We’re thinking bigger picture on how to better mix our uses in both urban and suburban settings,” said Laura Barr, who has just taken over as Americas retail leader at the global real estate services company.

“For so long the tasks in our lives have been segmented. We always lived, worked, and played in different places. Now, in both cities and suburbs, we have to re-think how people like to live their lives,” she said. “The opportunities are limitless.”

For the past decade, Barr has served as retail leader at CBRE’s San Francisco office, where she built a team that handles occupier leasing, institutional agency leasing, and consulting.

She has long been a standout performer at the company. Barr sat on the Americas Producer Advisory Board and co-chaired the Futures Committee, which produced research on the impact autonomous vehicles are having on real estate values. She was the inaugural winner of CBRE’s Darla Longo Award, which recognizes the best and brightest producers in the organization, and she is involved in the CBRE Women’s Network.

“CBRE’s retail business has strong momentum powered by our top talent and tech investments,” said Manish Kashyap, global president of the company’s Advisory & Transaction Services division, of which leasing is a part. “Laura’s dynamic and thoughtful leadership style will enable us to expand our market position and deliver enhanced growth opportunities and great outcomes to our clients.”

Barr expressed excitement about having been named to her new post at this particular juncture in the history of retail real estate.

“I could not be more bullish about the future of this practice and being able to assume this responsibility right now,” Barr said.