2016 Premier 100 Tech Leader: Adam L. Stanley

When DTZ acquired and merged with Cushman & Wakefield in 2015 to create one of the world's largest commercial real estate companies, Adam L. Stanley used the occasion to update the organization's technology underpinnings.

For example, he scrapped the two existing commission systems and replaced them with a new cloud-based option that the vendor maintains and regularly updates with new functionalities, freeing his staff to focus on delivering technologies that could differentiate Cushman & Wakefield and provide higher returns.

Stanley, global CIO of the newly merged company, acknowledges that bringing in new systems or doing serious upgrades during a merger can be a tough sell, but he considers himself a "chief technology evangelist." As such, he preached the benefits of the new system — better controls and compliance and a better user experience.

"To avoid kicking the can down the road, you have to constantly evangelize why what you want to do will add value to the business," he says.

Stanley's work includes a tool that commercial customers can use for free to quickly access information (such as floor area requirements and estimated costs) in specific geographic markets.

Stanley, 42, continues to push innovation. He uses a $1 million fund he started in 2015 to pilot new systems, and he spends time with startups to gain insight into emerging technologies.