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CBRE recruits new Silicon Valley managing director from Colliers

Steffen Kammerer sees career move as positioning for market turnaround

CBRE nabs head of Colliers’ Bay Area office to run CBRE’s office in Silicon Valley
CBRE's Steffen Kammerer (Linkedin, Getty)

Broker Steffen Kammerer, who led Collier’s Bay Area operations, has jumped ship to work for rival CBRE in Silicon Valley.

The former web developer has replaced Mark Schmidt, who led CBRE’s Silicon Valley office for 22 years, the San Francisco Business Times reported. 

As CBRE’s senior managing director for the region, Kammerer now oversees its advisory business, including leasing, sales, debt and structured finance, valuation and property management.

The opportunity to join the rival firm was “too good to pass up,” Kammerer told the Business Times. “I felt that CBRE was best positioned to ride the next wave.

“When the market inevitably shifts, it will prove to be a gold-rush for those focused on growth.”

Schmidt will retire from management at the end of the year. He’ll then serve as a vice chairman at CBRE’s San Jose office.

Silicon Valley has suffered growing office vacancies and fewer commercial real estate sales as interest rates rise. Its tech firms have also laid off workers and shed offices. 

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But when the market turns, Kammerer has placed a bet on CBRE as a leading firm in the market. He got into commercial real estate after the Great Recession.

He worked as a web developer at digital consulting firm SolutionSet in 2007, then pivoted to real estate three years later when he signed up with Chicago-based JLL, according to his LinkedIn profile. 

He spent nearly 11 years at JLL before becoming head of its national technology practice group. He also served as president of its leadership council advisory board, which advised the firm on growth, technology and hiring.

In 2021, he left JLL to head up Colliers’ brokerage operations for its San Francisco, Mid-Peninsula and Silicon Valley offices.

CBRE is the second-largest commercial real estate firm in Silicon Valley with 108 local agents, while Colliers is fourth with 85, according to Business Journal research. CBRE has offices in San Jose, San Francisco, Walnut Creek, Palo Alto and Oakland.

— Dana Bartholomew

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CBREColliersMark SchmidtSteffen Kammerer
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real estate brokers