Michael Thomas

Real estate is the only career I have ever known, and I could not have chosen something more suited to my personal skillset and interests — perhaps one of the reasons clients trust me to handle their needs not just in my home market of New York, but worldwide. I am currently a managing director in Colliers’ New York office, focusing on the management and execution of large-scale real estate transactions for global clients from across the industry spectrum. I also provide select marketing and leasing services to property owners in the New York Region. My areas of expertise include commercial leasing, asset management, valuation, acquisition and disposition, business development, financial modeling and analysis, leasing strategy development and execution, custom marketing for asset promotion, property management, and market research and analysis.

Understanding the benefits my clients derive from collaboration with real estate professionals from diverse backgrounds, I devote significant time to the development of Colliers’ next generation of brokerage talent. I am one of the leaders of the firm’s Tri-State “Accelerate Program,” which seeks to recruit and retain the best young brokerage talent in the industry. Through this initiative, I provide training and guidance on business development and client management to new advisory professionals in a highly competitive market. I am also a member of Colliers’ New York Strategic Initiative Committee and International Desk, which seek to create and maintain a cutting-edge service platform and encourage global business development, enhanced communication and expanded collaboration across markets, respectively.

I have more than 13 years of experience and joined Colliers’ predecessor firm GVA Williams as a research analyst in 2005. I later held a position in the firm’s property management division before turning to brokerage. Over the course of my advisory career, I have completed in excess of 500 transactions totaling over 3 million square feet of space in New York City and other major markets. I currently manage all U.S. real estate requirements for M&C Saatchi, a global advertising agency; real estate in the Northeast U.S. for Perficient, an IT consultancy; and real estate in the U.S. for TransferWise, a $1 billion technology firm, and Guardian News and Media, a 200-year-old media organization. My success as owner’s representative include leasing, marketing and/or asset management for a Swiss hedge fund at 232 East 59th Street (the Fine Arts Building), Thor Equities at 129 West 29th Street, Moinian Group and Thor Equities at 245 Fifth Avenue, and Savanna Partners at 1375 Broadway in Manhattan.

I earned a Master of Business Administration with a specialty in Strategy and Operations at the Leonard N. Stern School of Business at New York University.

I am a member of the Real Estate Board of New York (REBNY), the Building Owners and Managers Association (BOMA), the Metropolitan Museum, and the Museum of Modern Art. I sit on the Board of REBNY and serve on regional office building committees and the Ethics & Professional Practice committee. I am a committee member of the Bulldog’s Care Foundation, a not-for profit that supports the development of disadvantaged youth. I also sponsor the Headstrong Project’s Words of War, which helps returning veterans gain access to top mental health care professionals.

Thor Equities, Kushner Companies, Walter and Samuels, The Lantern Group, M＆C Saatchi, The Institute for Family Health, Savanna, Elite Model, Ford Models, Code Consultants, Arkadium