Women in CRE: Emma Giamartino

Emma Giamartino joined CBRE in February 2018 as senior vice president, corporate development and head of America’s M&A. She quickly moved up, taking on roles including executive vice president, global head of corporate development between 2020 and January 2021, when she became CIO.

Giamartino was appointed CFO in July 2021, and today is responsible for corporate functions with more than 8,000 employees.

“I’ve always been open to change and new challenges,” she said. “It’s the way I entered the industry—by being open to CBRE’s call and being excited by the challenges that come from starting fresh.”

Giamartino, who holds a bachelor’s degree in engineering from Duke University and an MBA from Columbia Business School, started her career in investment banking, focused on technology, media and telecom companies with some business services mixed in.

When CBRE approached her nearly seven years ago to lead M&A efforts in the Americas, she was intrigued by the breadth of services offered by the world’s largest commercial real estate services firm and the amount of capital it had to invest.

A member of the company’s executive committee, she oversees CBRE’s global finance organization, which includes controllership, financial planning and analysis, financial risk and assurance, insurance, investor relations, tax and treasury. Giamartino also manages capital allocation, working with executive, investment management and development leaders on real estate investment activities. CBRE has deployed $7.7 billion of capital since she became CFO.

Corporate changemaker

Past positions include director of corporate development at Verizon Communications, where she executed M&A transactions and strategic investments, and vice president, investment banking, at Nomura’s technology, media and telecommunications group.

“Now that I’ve been in real estate services for longer than any other industry in my career, what I enjoy most is thinking about the full lifecycle of real estate—how its uses change over time,” Giamartino said. “CBRE is at the forefront of those changes—both predicting and influencing the value our clients derive from real estate.”

She advises younger professionals to be open to new experiences. “If you’re asked to take on a new project, it’s most likely because someone sees something in you,” Giamartino said. “Each new experience helps you clarify what interests and motivates you—and showcases your capabilities to those around you.”

Read the September 2024 issue of CPE.