Cushman & Wakefield, the leading global commercial real estate services firm, is marking International Women’s Day 2023 by recognising the contributions of its female employees and announcing that its Women’s Integrated Network (WIN) has surpassed 500 members across Asia Pacific.
In Thailand, Country Head Gareth Powell said that the firm’s appointment of four women among six recently appointed senior leaders exemplified ‘hiring the right person for the job’.
“As part of our ongoing expansion within the Thai market, Cushman & Wakefield has restructured and doubled the size of our local team over the past six months. Key among those appointments was the appointment of four women to senior leadership positions: Khun Yupa Sathienpabayut (Head of Transactions), Khun Tatchada Supakornpichan (Head of Valuation and Advisory), Khun Ratanawalee Pisanporn (Director, Office Leasing) and Khun Kamolporn Prachayathankul – (Director, Logistics & Industrial).”
“In the same way that Cushman & Wakefield recognises Thailand’s potential as a market in which to evolve our business, we recognise the talent that women – and all genders – bring to the workplace, and how that talent diversifies and strengthens our business.”
In addition to reaching more than 500 members, WIN, the employee-led resource group (ERG), one of several at the company – including LGBTQ+ Integrated Network group UNITY and LEAD (Leading with Education and Awareness of Disabilities) – has opened 22 city chapters since it was started in the region five years ago.
The 500+ milestone marks what Head of People Asia Pacific and Executive Sponsor of the regional WIN division, Alexis Beckwith, describes as “the moment we have been working towards”.
“Our goals for 2023 are to activate, celebrate and motivate; they are based around consolidation rather than growth. Building our network across the region gives us amazing opportunities to exchange skills and support each other to advance our careers.”
“But we don’t just want to chase numbers, which can be a false indicator of change. From the foundation we have built, it is now about moving the needle on the issues that really matter.”
Digital campaign celebrates the impact women make every day
Cushman & Wakefield will today also launch “Life is What She Makes It”, a digital campaign showcasing the impact that women make in the firm “today, and every day”. The campaign complements the firm’s recently launched brand campaign, “Life is What We Make It”, which portrays Cushman & Wakefield’s impact on people, communities and the planet through its work with clients in 60 countries.
Asia Pacific Chief Executive Matthew Bouw said: “Women comprise 37 percent of Cushman & Wakefield’s global management team, and 40 percent of our board of directors. But it’s not just about the numbers – our commitment globally is to hire, develop and advance new talent. Embracing diversity, equity and inclusion in all its forms across all aspects of our organisation is one of the guiding principles of the Cushman & Wakefield culture.”
Bouw, who is also Chair of the company’s Asia Pacific DEI Council, said he appreciated the irony of having a male sponsor the program but was committed to ensuring DEI was championed at every level of the organisation.
“As the father of three daughters I am passionate about ensuring that women have access to every opportunity available.”
“When Alexis joined the company shortly after I began this role, one of the goals we jointly set was to bring the spirit and success of WIN in our Americas business to Asia Pacific. We started from zero but with the belief that establishing WIN Asia Pacific was crucial to both the vitality of the business and our commitment to DEI more broadly.”
“Five years later, I’m thrilled at the progress we have made.”
