Petra Durnin

Jennifer Hill talks to Petra Durnin about common pitfalls that Millennials face when interviewing and entering the workplace. Petra describes what she looks for when she is hiring and emphasizes how important it is to stand out and be indispensable.

Petra Durnin joined CBRE in January 2016 as the Director of Research & Analytics for Southern California and brings with her over fifteen years of research, analytics, writing, editing, consulting, and mentoring experience. She manages a team of 30 real estate professionals that gathers primary research, provides strategic analysis, and produces value-add thought leadership on the market and economy.
Ms. Durnin develops strategic solutions including alignment of a cohesive, cross-functional Research team to expand service, leverage talent, develop business, and improve efficiency; forges effective regional media relationships, securing exclusive quarterly coverage in major national and local media outlets; manages and analyzes data across multiple product types; performs top down market analysis for executive management, conferences, internal and external clients; produces unique thought leadership reports. Additionally, Ms. Durnin maintains deep relationships with landlords who utilize CBRE data for their business decisions, such as Brookfield Properties, Commonwealth Partners, Equity Office Properties, Hines, Lincoln Property Company, and John Hancock. Ms. Durnin has also trained and mentored over 20 broker trainees who have become successful brokers in the Southwest region.
Prior to joining CBRE, Ms. Durnin managed Research for the southwest region at Cushman & Wakefield from 2006 to 2015. From 2004 to 2006, Ms. Durnin worked with developers, owners and city leaders while at the Downtown Center Business Improvement District (DCBID) on numerous projects related to the Downtown Renaissance. In addition to tracking residential, retail and hospitality projects from planning through completion, she quantified the economic impact of development and spearheaded demographics studies, all of which are widely used throughout the region. She began her real estate career in 2000 at Cushman & Wakefield.
In 2001, she received the Cushman & Wakefield Outstanding Achievement Award, in 2005, the IDA Downtown Achievement Award for producing the Downtown Living Weekend Event, which drew over 7,000 attendees, and in 2015 she won the Cushman & Wakefield Mentor of the Year Award.
Ms. Durnin is an active member of the DCBID and volunteers for Habitat for Humanity, Ronald McDonald House, and Junior Achievement.