LOCATION, LOCATION, LOCATION

As Regional President, Central at global real estate services giant, Cushman & Wakefield, Victoria Malkin oversees a $600 million business. Charged with growth planning, client care, brokerage talent development, and performance management, she carries a hefty responsibility. She’s more than up to the challenge, having built a strong foundation that prepared her for leadership.

Malkin studied Human and Organizational Design at Vanderbilt University in Nashville. “My education was rooted in the liberal arts and sciences and focused on problem-solving, I think it really prepared me for corporate America.” While living in Music City, she developed a love of country music, honky-tonks, and tailgating. “Vanderbilt,” she says, “is a magical place in one of the most fun cities.”

After graduating, Malkin started her career at JMB Realty, the renowned private real estate company owned by her uncle, Judd Malkin, and his partner Neil Bluhm. She then moved to JLL where she learned the commercial brokerage business. When an opportunity arose to lead the Chicago marketing team at Cushman & Wakefield in 2016, she took it. “I wanted to be at C&W because it was a challenger brand with significant momentum.”

Malkin’s momentum at the firm was appreciable. Within two years, she was promoted to lead the East Region Marketing organization. Two years later, she was given the opportunity to head the Americas Marketing & Research organization. “I reorganized and rebuilt the 450-person team, focusing on aligning resources with business priorities,” recalls Malkin. “Together with my partners, we built a best-in-class organization, and I’m incredibly proud of what we accomplished. I started in the role just before COVID-19 and led the team through some of the most complex real estate challenges in history.”

Those challenges certainly haven’t gone away. “The office market faces a number of headwinds,” asserts Malkin. “We’ve seen a flight to quality, where tenants take less space in favor of highly amenitized workplaces, most often in well-located, new or renovated buildings. The Loop and the suburbs both have their share of vacant and subleased office space in older Class A and in Class B and C buildings. That space will either need to be updated, or it will be reimagined by new ownership. We’re starting to see suburban malls reexamined for mixed-use redevelopment, with additional residential or experiential components.”

With a portfolio that ranges from Texas to Canada, Malkin is well-positioned to read the singularities of individual metropolitan markets. “Chicago has an incredibly diversified economy, with a strong backbone of industrial and logistics. You have life sciences and biotech, especially driven by agriculture, in Kansas City and St. Louis, along with a sizable healthcare cluster. Dallas, Austin, and Houston have long since branched out beyond the energy sector—Texas has some of the fastest-growing cities in the country. And with the Twin Cities, you have Fortune 500 headquarters and a diversified economy that are the economic engines for the Northern Plains. Each market has unique advantages and clients, and we build around serving their needs. We’re a global firm and many of our clients work across markets, geographies, and product types. My job is to partner with our people across our platform and service lines to make sure they’re aligned and equipped to exceed those clients’ expectations.”

As a female executive in a male-dominated industry, Malkin is committed to making the commercial brokerage ranks more diverse, equal, and supportive of women and other under-represented groups. She serves as Executive Sponsor of Cushman & Wakefield’s Parents & Caregivers Together (PACT) group, a critical employee support resource, and is a leader and mentor in the firm’s Women’s Integrated Network (WIN), a group that develops and supports women by providing a platform focused on developing female fee-earners and leaders, supporting diverse perspectives. “And as the parent of a young child, as a working mom, and as a native Chicagoan, I’m passionate about children, families, and healthcare initiatives that make an impact. I’m proud to be a member of the Children’s Service Board, a philanthropic organization dedicated to supporting vital programs at Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children’s Hospital.”

Raised in the city, Malkin moved to Winnetka with her husband, Jesse Van Dyke, and their toddler, Alexander, in October. The couple are enjoying getting acquainted with the North Shore, trying out restaurants, attending live music events with their music-fanatic son, taking long bike rides, and renovating their 1910 house. “I’ve always lived in very urban neighborhoods, so it’s exciting to create a suburban home just for our family,” says Malkin, who is working with Marli Jones and Michael Kreuser of Rebel House Design to honor the historic nature of the property. “We want to make this our forever home.”