Barbi Reuter

President & CEO

Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR

By Tara Kirkpatrick

Barbi Reuter found her drive at an early age. 

A self-described “happy product of public schools and a grateful recipient of subsidized lunch,” Reuter now leads one of the region’s top commercial real estate firms and is poised to take on an even larger leadership role.

“While I might have dreamed about moving away, opportunity knocked and I became part of something that opened doors and lit my fire,” said the president and CEO of Cushman & Wakefield | PICOR. She began working there during her first year in college and soon launched a management services practice for the company. Reuter then climbed the ranks to COO, president and eventually CEO in 2020. 

In total, she has amassed three decades in property management. “The work we do in commercial real estate is tightly linked to job creation, economic prosperity and community well-being,” she said.

“With her energetic leadership as CEO and president of CW|PICOR, we just experienced our most successful year in our 35-year history,” said Mike Hammond, founder and principal of PICOR Commercial Real Estate Services. “Considering how tumultuous 2020 was, that is a remarkable achievement, but why am I not surprised!”

Reuter is a past chair of the Tucson Metro Chamber and Tucson’s Woman of the Year in 2019. She is a founding member of the Tucson chapter of Commercial Real Estate Women, an association for women in the real estate field that focuses on networking, education and advancement. Earlier this year, she was elected to CREW’s global board of directors and in 2022, will be the first Tucsonan to serve as president of the 12,000-member organization.

“This global board leadership role is one I couldn’t have imagined several years ago, and I wouldn’t have been ready for it,” Reuter said. “It’s a career honor to serve with and for a group of leaders I admire and respect, advancing a mission that positively impacts women’s careers and lives.”

Reuter is a passionate advocate for women in the workplace. “If you don’t ask, you don’t get,” she said. “This is especially important for women. We think when we excel, our accomplishments will be recognized, but it’s not always the case that someone taps us on the shoulder. 

“I coach young women that they deserve a literal and figurative seat at the table and urge both men and women to be allies for others, calling them ‘in’ rather than ‘out.’ Be a servant leader and a ‘go giver,’” she said.