Commercial Real Estate Veteran Andy Ghertner Announces Retirement from Cushman & Wakefield After 46 Years

ATLANTA, October 31, 2023 – Cushman & Wakefield announced that Atlanta-based broker and Vice Chair Andy Ghertner will formally retire after 46 years with the firm. Ghertner has been with the firm since 1977 and has specialized in representing tenants and users in achieving their office space, business park, and build-to-suit objectives nationally and internationally. He was also a former member of Cushman & Wakefield's Advisory Board of Directors.  

Ghertner is one of the original founders of Cushman & Wakefield’s operations in Atlanta and the greater Southeast, following Cushman & Wakefield’s purchase of Bugg, Coppedge, Ghertner, & McWilliams in 1977, a regional brokerage firm that Ghertner started with three other partners. Today, Atlanta is one of Cushman & Wakefield’s most successful offices. 

At Cushman & Wakefield, he has represented clients taking space in several million square feet of office buildings. His client roster consists of numerous well-known companies and corporations such as Alston & Bird, GE, McKenna, Long & Aldridge, Entergy, King & Spalding, Smith, Gambrell & Russell, Kellogg, KPMG, UBS, Pfizer, AT&T, Lucent, and Quikrete.  

Major transactions that Ghertner spearheaded throughout his Cushman & Wakefield career include a 260,000-square-foot lease with General Electric Power Systems in 1998, a 205,000-square-foot lease with Equant NV in 2000, a 440,000-square-foot lease with King & Spalding in 2006, and finally the 365,000-square-foot Alston & Bird reconsolidation at One Atlantic Center in 2011.  

“Andy is the godfather of office tenant representation in Atlanta and has made a substantial impact on all the clients and individuals he has met throughout the community. Even as a very busy and successful tenured broker, Andy has always advocated for an open-door policy and investing his own time for everyone to feel welcome and supported in the industry. We wouldn’t be where we are as a firm without his generosity, mentorship, and knowledge and cannot thank him enough for his efforts all these years,” said Tyler Courtney, Managing principal of Cushman & Wakefield’s Atlanta operations.   

Fifty-five years ago, Ghertner embarked on his commercial real estate career, working for a real estate developer who specialized in multifamily construction. He made the move into brokerage with Atlanta real estate, insurance, and property management firm Adair Realty in 1972 before starting his own and joining Cushman & Wakefield several years later.  

Ghertner is a proud University of Georgia graduate where received his Bachelor of Business Administration from the Terry College of Business and is passionate about giving back to his alma mater. He is an emeritus member of the Terry College of Business Alumni Board, having served on the board for a regular term, and was a 2011 recipient of the Terry College of Business’ Distinguished Alumni Award. He is also a Varsity Football Letterman having been Head Manager on former Georgia Bulldogs coach Vince Dooley’s first team in 1965.   

Among the commercial real estate industry, Ghertner is a very well-known figure and contributes his expertise as a member of several professional groups like the Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors (ACBR), Central Atlanta Progress, Georgia Association of Realtors, Georgia Chamber of Commercia, the National Association of Industrial & Office Parks (NAIOP) Atlanta Chapter, and CoreNet Global. He was given the Diamond Phoenix Award by the ACBR in 2019 for being a member of the Million Dollar Club for more than 45 years. Currently, he is a lifetime member of the organization’s Million Dollar Club.   

“My career has been a great ride, especially the last 46 years with Cushman & Wakefield. I have been a participant in almost more corporate leasing transactions than I can remember with Cushman & Wakefield colleagues across the country and internationally. We were able to develop creative solutions for their often- complex space requirements drawing on the firm’s broad array of analytical services. To conclude a long and fulfilling career at Cushman & Wakefield is a little scary and somewhat difficult, but I hope to stay in touch with my colleagues, clients, and friends in any way I can,” said Ghertner regarding his retirement.   

Cushman & Wakefield is a market leader in Atlanta, consistently ranked among the city’s top brokerage firms and property management teams since opening an office in the city in 1977. Over the past 46 years, Cushman & Wakefield Atlanta has grown to employ more than 750 professionals who provide invaluable expertise across all of the firm’s vertically integrated services.