CBRE Group, Inc. today announced that Raymond Torto, PhD, will retire from CBRE on July 31, 2014. Dr. Torto has been a senior member of CBRE’s Research team for many years and has most recently served as Global Chairman of Research, and before that Global Chief Economist.
“Ray is a highly respected figure in the real estate industry,” said Bob Sulentic, President & Chief Executive Officer of CBRE. “Along with Bill Wheaton, he helped to pioneer the application of macroeconomic forecasting to real estate – a tool that has become a staple for industry analysis worldwide. We thank Ray for his decades of exceptional service to CBRE, and wish him well as he embarks on the next phase of his life.”
Dr. Torto was a co-founding principal of Torto Wheaton Research, a leading commercial real estate research company that was acquired by CBRE. He has held a number of senior positions within CBRE Research, and worked with Nick Axford, PhD, CBRE Global Head of Research and other global leaders to build one of the industry’s most recognized and highly regarded global research platforms. As Global Chief Economist from 2008 to 2013, Dr. Torto served as a key CBRE spokesperson on trends in the global economy and commercial real estate markets.
“Ray has been a personal friend, colleague and mentor for more than 15 years,” said Dr. Axford. “Like so many at CBRE I have benefited enormously from his astute insights and his talent for employing wit, charm and humor to explain complex concepts. We will miss Ray greatly but respect his decision to retire and wish him nothing but the best for the future.”
“CBRE has been my professional home for nearly 30 years,” Dr. Torto said. “I have so many friends here that leaving is not easy. However, I will take with me many fond memories and great pride in all that we have accomplished – for CBRE and most especially for our clients.”
Dr. Torto has authored four books and numerous academic and professional articles on economics and commercial real estate. He was a co-recipient with Bill Wheaton of the 2007 James A. Graaskamp Award for Real Estate Research Excellence and is a visiting faculty member at Harvard University’s Graduate School of Design.
Dr. Torto earned both an undergraduate degree and a Ph.D. in Economics from Boston College.
