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Despina Katsikakis

Executive Partner, Global Head of Total Workplace • United Kingdom

Despina Katsikakis
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125 Old Broad Street
London, EC2N 1AR
United Kingdom

Office: +44 203 296 2856

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Despina Katsikakis

Executive Partner, Global Head of Total Workplace • United Kingdom


Despina is one of the leading voices in the office sector. For nearly 40 years she has led innovation, research, and implementation of transformative workplace environments for global corporates and the visioning of exemplary real estate developments for investors worldwide.  

She pioneered the role of workplace consultancy in the 1980s and led the transformation of the workplace as an experience. In her role at Cushman & Wakefield, she provides input across the firm’s global business on the rapidly changing context of work and its impact on employee engagement, productivity, wellbeing, and the future role of the workplace to deliver social value and business performance. 

With these factors increasingly determining the real estate decisions of leading corporations, Katsikakis’ unrivalled insight on the future of work benefits occupier clients – as well as building landlords and investors – through repositioning commercial real estate to deliver top line performance, cultural aspirations, and ESG commitments. 

She is the current President of the British Council of Offices (BCO).  

Katsikakis regularly lectures, writes, and contributes to media, research and publications on the future of the workplace. She serves on various advisory boards including Delos™, the founders of the WELL Building Standard.

in the News

Authority Magazine Article Despina (image)
“Why we need to take a hospitality mindset" with Despina Katsikakis

We need to bring new skills to the industry; we don’t need more chartered surveyors, we need more analysts, tech designers, curators, experience managers, human behavior experts, and environmental and wellbeing experts. We as an industry need to take a hospitality mindset to focus on customer satisfaction and ongoing loyalty and service rather than transactions.

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CNN Feature (image)
Lessons from China: How global business has changed forever

Commercial real estate firm Cushman & Wakefield has built a prototype called the "Six Feet Office," which encourages workers to continue social distancing when they return to the office.

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Fast Company (image)
Our offices will never be the same after COVID-19. Here’s what they could look like

It's hard to imagine now, but we will one day have to go back to our offices. So how will work...work? That's the question Cushman & Wakefield is answering already.

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Despina Washington Post (image)
The post-pandemic workplace will hardly look like the one we left behind

Through Cushman & Wakefield’s joint venture with Chinese real estate developer Vanke, the firm has already advised thousands of companies in Asia about returning to work.

Read more

Business Insider feat Despina (image)
10 Real-Estate Insiders Lay Out the Future of Flex-Offices, and How Employers are Preparing Now

The costs for flex operators will be similar to those at traditional at traditional offices, Despina Katsikakis, Cushman & Wakefield's head of occupier business performance said.

Read more

ABC News (image)
What offices may look like in a post-pandemic era, if they exist at all

Cushman & Wakefield developed a best practices guide and has also made a prototype of a "Six Feet Office," a reimagined office space that encourages social distancing at work and implemented a full-scale example.

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Related Insights

Pedro from Cushman & Wakefield (image)
Research • Workplace

Excellence in Action: How Bank of America Is Navigating the Now

Partnerships, workplace excellence and sustainability were front and center in the latest episode of The Team Around the Table podcast conversation with Bank of America.
12/12/2024
outlook-2024-card.jpg
Research • Workplace

Asia Pacific Outlook 2025

Our APAC Outlook 2025 offers insights on Asia Pacific's economic growth, inflation, interest rates, and market dynamics.
Dominic Brown • 11/12/2024
Turn Around the Table Podcast
Podcast • Workplace

The Team Around the Table Podcast

There's a better way to outsource corporate real estate—and it starts with choosing the right team.
10/09/2024
Rethinking the office sector
Research • Workplace

ReThinking the office sector in Asia Pacific

Our report takes a deeper dive into the underlying dynamics and drivers across The APAC region’s major markets and provides a roadmap for asset optimisation.
Dominic Brown • 21/06/2023
team working at a table
Research

What Occupiers Want: Global Survey Results 2023

Highlights from this year’s What Occupiers Want report include perspectives on workplace design, global talent recruitment, flexible work and changes to real estate portfolios.
Despina Katsikakis • 08/06/2023
outdoor dining tables
Podcast • Workplace

Podcast: Reworking the Workplace

In this episode, Michael Creamer is joined by Nicola Gillen, Richard Pickering, Sophie Schuller and Zoe Humphries, lead authors of our new book ‘Reworking the Workplace’ published by Royal Institute of British Architects (RIBA).
Michael Creamer • 06/06/2023
052023newreasonsofficewebcard
Research • Workplace

A New Reason for the Office: Connection and Inspiration

Technology has enabled the workforce to be more virtual and as most employees now have choices of where to work, there’s something different about the office these days. It’s not just the casual attire, the prevalence of videoconferencing or the hybrid work environment. 
Despina Katsikakis • 05/06/2023
obsolescence-emea-webcard
Insights • Workplace

European Obsolescence Equals Opportunity

Repositioning: The Evolution of European Offices 
Emma Swinnerton • 14/03/2023
What's your take card (image)
Video • Workplace

What’s your take….on workplace ecosystems of the future?

David Smith, Global Head of Occupier Research, discusses Cushman & Wakefield’s most recent report, “Workplace Ecosystems of the Future.”
David Smith • 20/01/2021
What's your take card (image)
Video • Workplace

What’s your take…on investors and occupiers

EMEA Heads of Occupier Services and Investor Services, James Maddock and James Young, discuss how companies can keep employees engaged during challenging times such as a pandemic. 
James Maddock • 02/12/2020
What's your take card (image)
Video • Workplace

What’s your take…on the recovery of offices

In this episode of "What's your Take', Global Head of Forecasting, Rebecca Rockey, joins me to talk about the economy, timing of the recovery and more.
Rebecca Rockey • 08/10/2020
What's your take card (image)
Video • Workplace

What’s your take…on the workplace?

Global Total Workplace Lead, Despina Katsikakis talks about what the pandemic has meant for the workplace, accelerating the trends that have been apparent for the last decade and more.
Despina Katsikakis • 29/09/2020

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