Ford marks more than 25 years with Cushman & Wakefield Inc. (Profile of the Week).

Steven Ford, Senior Managing Director Cushman & Wakefield Inc. Facilities Management Group

STEVEN FORD, SENIOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD INC.

FACILITIES MANAGEMENT GROUP

On the morning of Sept. 11, Steven Ford was riding a Downtown subway train when it began to fill with smoke.

As head of Cushman & Wakefield's facility management group, Ford had decided to hop the train with a colleague to head Downtown where the company manages numerous buildings. With the lights flickering and the smoke continuing to fill the tunnel, Ford worried that "this may be the end."

So he turned to his colleague and told him, if they didn't survive the ordeal, he should remember one thing: "This was your idea," Ford told his colleague.

Ford and his colleague managed, to keep out of harm's way on Sept. 11, but the experience has left him with a harrowing tale to share with those who inquire about his more than 25-year career in the property management field.

This past spring Ford, who is based in C&W's East Rutherford, N.J., office, was recognized by the New York chapter of the Building Owners and Managers Association as the 2001-2002 Outstanding Local Member of the Year. Recently he received another award from the Mid-Atlantic region of BOMA. Ford has served as BOMA/NY president for two terms in 1999 and 2000 and has chaired the finance and personal committees and has served on the board of directors.

Among his contributions to BOMA, as president, Ford coordinated an effort to combine the resources of BOMA/NY and the Real Estate Board of New York on a sales-tax related issue, which resulted in a favorable ruling for the real estate industry.

Since 1997, he has served BOMA on the international level, as a member of its international board of governors. He is a member of BOMA's international asset management committee, executive committee and the national advisory council, and was recently appointed chair of its corporate facilities task force.

Ford's experience with the organization prompted him to run for vice president of BOMA International, an elected post. Ford's father was heavily involved with the group, a family tradition he is trying to maintain.

"The more you give to an organization, the more you get back," he said. "It makes me a better professional."

The international group's mission is one of-education and advocacy so, if Ford is elected, his new position would allow him to have more influence in legislative affairs that impact the industry.

"I want to represent our industry," he said.

At C&W, Ford has been a strong advocate of technology. He has been involved with the company's Internet-related initiatives such as BIG-e Real Estate and eProperty tax, whose mission is to help the company provide better property management services with the help of technology.

In fact, he cites advances in technology as one of the major changes the property management field has seen since he began his career with C&W's property management department more than 25 years ago.

Today, he oversees the company's management of owner-occupied properties in excess of 70 million. SF, while providing traditional property management and support services for clients.

Ford also serves as mentor to the firm's asset services units in Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, Virginia and Washington, D.C.

"It's become an instantaneous profession," he said. "Through technology we've improved our reporting capabilities."

Off the job Ford, who lives in Holmdel, N.J., has participated in many philanthropic and charitable initiatives, including the Association for the Help of Retarded Children, the Torch Foundation, the food Bank of New Jersey, and others.