Profile

Katie Tufford is a Senior Director with Cushman & Wakefield who partners with private and institutional investors to increase asset value through creative and strategic marketing, in-depth lease analysis, and operational expertise.

After spending more than a decade working in property management at Class A downtown and suburban office high rises, Katie knows what truly drives tenants and landlords. She understands that a lease is more than just a legal agreement. For tenants it’s a means to grow their business through employee recruitment and retention, a driver for company culture and their biggest financial investment. For landlords, it’s a component of a complex investment strategy for which the most diligent oversight and fiduciary integrity is required. Katie’s expertise in all aspects of asset management, including marketing, leasing, budgeting, financial reporting, operations, construction, tenant relations, and human resources is unrivaled in the market and is instrumental to her clients’ execution of their investment strategy.

Work Experience

During her property management career, Katie held General Manager positions throughout the Twin Cities for investors such as TIAA-CREF, MetLife, Commonwealth REIT, and Investcorp. In 2016, she was recruited by The Excelsior Group and Goldman Sachs to manage the $30M redevelopment of West End Office Park in St. Louis Park. Together with Cushman & Wakefield’s leasing team, she contributed to a lease-up that increased occupancy from 62% to 92% over a period of 3 years and achieved rents 50% above the investor’s proforma.

After the experience working directly on the principal side with The Excelsior Group, Katie pursued an opportunity to realize a decade-long goal to go break into commercial real estate brokerage.
In 2018, she joined agency leasing veteran and former Excelsior Group colleague Tom Tracy in establishing a new agency leasing team at Cushman & Wakefield. She and Tom’s core values include a serious approach to their roles as advisors, progressive marketing and branding, technological expertise, investment in relationships, and an emphasis on working with property management in executing a collaborative asset strategy. They believe in bringing value to clients by keeping them at the center of a rapidly changing real estate landscape.

Education

Katie holds a BA in English from the University of Minnesota, and is finalizing her Master of Science in Real Estate from the University of St. Thomas.