CBRE, the world's largest commercial real estate services firm, has issued a retention award valued up to $5 million to an executive who is significant to CBRE's "long-term succession strategy."
The Dallas-based firm noted the importance of Vikram Kohli, CBRE's chief operating officer who is also the CEO of the firm's advisory services business, by issuing him a one-time equity-based retention award that is 100% performance-based and has a total target grant value of $5 million, according to a Securities and Exchange Commission filing from last week.
"The award is designed to recognize Mr. Kohli's outstanding contributions, reinforce alignment with the company’s long‑term performance objectives, and support Mr. Kohli’s retention in light of his significance to the company’s long-term succession strategy," CBRE said in the filing.
In the filing, CBRE added that the award is 100% performance based and will only vest if specific performance criteria are met. He must also be employed with the company for the entirety of the five-year vesting period. CBRE declined to comment to CoStar News outside of the SEC filing.
The award consists entirely of performance-based restricted stock units, of which 50% are eligible to be earned and vested based on the achievement of certain shareholder return goals. The other 50% of restricted stock units are tied to the achievement of core earnings-per-share goals.
For Kohli's payout, none of the awards will be earned unless CBRE's performance is above the 40th percentile of the companies that made up the S&P 500 on Feb. 25, 2026, according to the filing.
Like other CBRE awards to certain executives, Kohli's award is "materially consistent with the company's equity grants," except Kohli's five-year vesting time is longer than the typical three-year vesting time, the firm said.
As CEO of CBRE's advisory services business, Kohli oversees the segment that spans leasing, sales, debt origination, mortgage servicing and valuations across the globe. CBRE's advisory services business unit has been performing well. In last month’s fourth-quarter and fiscal 2025 earnings call, CBRE CEO Bob Sulentic said revenue from the firm’s advisory business had “significant gains,” as CoStar News reported.
Kohli's duties as COO for CBRE include realizing efficiencies across business segments and key platform functions. Kohli joined CBRE in 2001 in India as part of the transactions team focusing on occupier advisory and office leasing and has worked for the company ever since in various roles, according to CBRE's website.