Cushman & Wakefield Appoints Leading Workplace Specialist Nicola Gillen

Global real estate advisor Cushman & Wakefield has further strengthened its advisory offering with the appointment of workplace visionary, Nicola Gillen, to the newly created role of Head of Total Workplace, to drive foresight and alignment across EMEA.

An architect by background, Gillen is widely recognised within the industry as a leading authority on advancing workplace strategies, design and change management. She joins Cushman & Wakefield from AECOM, where for the past 20 years she has advised some of the world’s biggest and best-known firms on how to achieve tangible business goals through their workplaces. Examples include Rolls-Royce, BP and The Esteé Lauder Companies.

Based in London, Gillen will work closely with Despina Katsikakis, Head of Occupier Business Performance, who is driving the global alignment of all Cushman & Wakefield workplace related innovation and services for occupiers and investors. 

Despina Katsikakis, Head of Occupier Business Performance at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “Nicola’s significant insights on the future of work will be hugely beneficial to our occupier clients as well as the building owners and landlords seeking to attract them. The working environment has a demonstrable impact on top line performance, with improvements resulting in employees who are engaged, happier and more productive. Nicola is a renowned authority in this increasingly important area and we are delighted our clients will be able to draw on her experience.”

Nicola Gillen, Head of Total Workplace, EMEA at Cushman & Wakefield, said: “I am passionate about the relationship between design, behaviour and the built environment and I am very excited to join Cushman & Wakefield. I look forward to working with my new colleagues, leveraging the firm’s scale and expertise to advance workplace and deliver true value to clients as they prepare their businesses for the future.”

Gillen, who is lead author of AECOM’s recently published RIBA book ‘Future Office’, joins Cushman & Wakefield in November 2019.