Manhattan, NY Savills has appointed Katrina Kostic Samen as vice chair and head of Savills Workplace Studio | North America. Kostic Samen, who possesses over three decades of commercial development, occupier strategy, and design experience, will relocate from Savills global headquarters in London to its North American headquarters at 399 Park Ave. Under her leadership, the firm will compliment and grow its existing workplace consulting capabilities under its new Savills Workplace Studio brand.
In 2019, Savills plc. acquired KKS Strategy, the 30-person firm founded by Kostic Samen in 2004 and since then, she has served as head of workplace strategy and design across the UK and established an international design studio, KKS Savills, under the Savills umbrella. In recent years, Kostic Samen oversaw many significant projects around the world for Clifford Chance, Withers, CMS, Aon, Hiscox, Argent and British Land, and most recently a new sports & tourism city for Qiddiya.
KKS Savills in London will now be led by Caroline Pontifex and her leadership team, from their new studio at Savills HQ, 33 Margaret Street, W1.
“The North American workplace is evolving at a rapid pace, with occupiers seeking to redefine the physical and philosophical purpose of the office. There is no one better positioned than Katrina to lead our team of senior, talented workplace professionals, each of whom brings industry specific skill sets to help clients push the boundaries of the traditional office and strive for innovative solutions to the complex issues facing tenants of all sizes,” said Savills president David Lipson.
Kostic Samen’s insights into tenant needs has allowed her to also work with developers and landlords to future-proof their assets and transform second generation properties into prime opportunities through occupier focused re-imagining of public and amenity spaces.
“I am driven by a commitment to excellence and innovation and live by the principle of ‘shaping change together’, working closely with my teams and clients from around the globe to ensure that the pieces of the workplace puzzle fall into place as they should,” said Kostic Samen. “Internally, my objective will be to create processes and procedures that will enable our Savills Workplace Studio across North America to execute at its highest level. Externally, through our integrated global network, we will deliver exemplary workplace services to our clients.”
In addition to Kostic Samen’s professional accomplishments, she is a noted thought leader on research and workplace trends and is an advocate for diversity and inclusion within the real estate profession. She is a member of many notable UK-based organizations and recently served as the third ever woman president of the british council for offices, the largest UK professional body for commercial qualitative and quantitative technical excellence.
Savills Workplace Studio specializes in multiple service lines, including workplace analysis and strategy, wellness and sustainability, programming, change and communications management, space planning and optimization, and design.
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