Ben Comm, Senior Managing Director, Cushman & Wakefield, was honored at AOBA’s
Annual Meeting on Jan. 18 with the Sidney Glassman Memorial Award, AOBA’s most prestigious recognition. This award honors the legacy of Sidney Glassman, an executive with the Charles E. Smith Company, who was a key architect of today’s property management practices.

A member of AOBA’s Board of Directors since 2006, Ben also served as President of AOBA President in 2011, and as Chairman of BOMA International’s Emergency Preparedness Committee from 2012 to 2014.

“I have always been impressed by Ben’s on-point guidance and relentless commitment to our industry. Ben exemplifies the required criteria for this award on all levels,” said Harald Mangold, Scott Management, Inc., who received the 2017 Sidney Glassman Memorial Award and presented the 2018 award.

With a 33 year career in property management, Ben has held varied positions over the years, including serving as a Maintenance Technician for a building in Chicago early in his career.

These industry experiences served as motivating influences for Ben’s advocacy for training and education for his teams and colleagues. He served as an instructor for internal company training programs, as well as an educator for the Real Estate Associate Program (REAP), the successful diversity initiative in the commercial real estate industry for three years.

Following Ben’s challenge to several Cushman & Wakefield senior managers to “pay it forward,” a committee was formed which has trained managers and maintenance employees on property management topics, and has also inspired many colleagues to pursue and achieve BOMI’s Real Property Administrator (RPA) designation via an in-house training program.

In addition, Ben has spearheaded his firm’s participation in numerous industry events, notably the TOBY Awards competition, at which Cushman & Wakefield (formerly Cassidy Turley) won several awards. ##

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