As Chairman of CB Richard Ellis, Inc. for the New York Tri-State Region, John Powers oversees the strategic direction of the company for the firm’s Tri-State operations.  In addition, he continues to work directly with clients.

Prior to the merger with CBRE, John spent 14 years with Insignia/ESG, rising to the rank of Vice Chairman. Starting in the late 1980's, he managed the Consulting Division of Insignia/ESG leading the Group into a strong and integral part of the firm. During his tenure, he has represented such household corporate names as AT&T, United Technologies, Hewlett Packard, First Union Bank, McGraw-Hill, Ziff-Davis, Skadden Arps, PNC Bank, Chase Manhattan Bank, Arthur Andersen, Barclay's Bank, AIG and Mellon Financial and many others for both advisory projects and real estate transactions, all between 100,000 and 1 million sq. ft. His expertise is in providing corporate clients with a rare level of experience and insight vis-à-vis the planning required to develop and implement large occupancy strategies, a skill built on his experience as a strategic planner for Swiss Bank Corporation early in his career.

While John works primarily on behalf of tenants, he led the team that advised Boston Properties on their Times Square development sites. Ernst & Young leased an entire building, over 1 million sq. ft. for 20 years. He marketed and recently completed the leasing of Times Square Tower, a 1.2 million sq. ft. development. He is also working with Boston Properties on the leasing of 599 Lexington.

He is a frequent speaker on commercial real estate in New York valued for his insight linking economic trends and conditions to their eventual impact on the office market.