SIOR’s CEO to Step Down

Real estate veteran Robert Thornburgh, who has held the position of CEO of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR Global) since early 2021, will step down from that post as of the end of this year, according to an announcement by the organization.

As CEO, he has been responsible for the management of the organization’s business and executing the directives set by its board of directors.

Thornburgh’s tenure has seen growth for the organization, which currently has about 4,000 members in 50 countries. Over the past three years, SIOR reported, there has been 18 percent overall membership growth, a 27 percent increase in female members, and a 19 percent increase in international membership.

The organization has also worked to expand its pool of younger members in recent years. Now nearly a third (29 percent) of SIOR’s new members are under the age of 35, the organization noted.

Before heading SIOR, Thornburgh was CEO of Heger Industrial, a real estate firm with a 60-year history in the Los Angeles market. In 2017, Heger merged with Kidder Mathews, and as part of the merger, Thornburgh joined the company’s executive leadership team, as the firm’s presence expanded across the West Coast.

Thornburgh also served as SIOR global president and sat on the SIOR board of directors. He holds four major designations within the commercial real estate industry—SIOR, CCIM, CPM and FRICS. This is a distinction that less than 1 percent of all global commercial real estate practitioners maintain, according to SIOR.

No successor in the post has been named. SIOR Global’s governance committee will be forming a search committee to assist in identifying a new chief executive.

Thornburgh stresses preparation

Thornburgh has contributed to Commercial Property Executive. Shortly after becoming SIOR CEO, he penned a column stressing the importance of preparation in the commercial real estate business. He said he is often asked about what is going to happen next in the industry, or the wider economy.

“Throughout my career, I found a better question to ask is: ‘What will you do to appropriately prepare for a changing market, no matter which direction it’s headed?’ ” he wrote.

Thornburgh cited not only sound planning, but also a reserve of capital and paying attention to customer service, as key factors in real estate success, whatever shape the market is in.