{"id":213151,"date":"2026-03-10T14:01:08","date_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:01:08","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/213151\/"},"modified":"2026-03-10T14:01:08","modified_gmt":"2026-03-10T14:01:08","slug":"kimberly-follett-is-shaping-commercial-real-estate-across-northern-california-and-nevada","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/213151\/","title":{"rendered":"Kimberly Follett Is Shaping Commercial Real Estate Across Northern California and Nevada"},"content":{"rendered":"

<\/a><\/p>\n

This story is part of our March 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here.<\/a><\/p>\n


\n
\n <\/p>\n

Kimberly Follett<\/p>\n

\n Managing Director and Market Leader, CBRE\n<\/p>\n

\n Growing up in San Luis Obispo as one of three girls, a triplet,
\n Kimberly Follett might easily have followed her family to Cal
\n Poly. Instead, she chose to attend college in Sacramento, carving
\n out a different\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0 path that would
\n eventually lead her to oversee brokerage teams across Northern
\n California and Nevada as managing director and market leader at
\n CBRE.\n<\/p>\n

\n She enrolled at Sacramento State and initially studied interior
\n design, but partway through the program, she realized it wasn\u2019t
\n really for her. Classes were difficult to access, and progress
\n felt uncertain. When she walked into the business department and
\n learned how easily she could change majors, she did.\n<\/p>\n

\n That pivot was shaped by a strong sense of independence early on.
\n \u201cI didn\u2019t really have a safety net in family or wealth, so I knew
\n I had to get a job and take care of myself,\u201d Follett says.\n<\/p>\n

\n She selected a concentration in real estate and land use and was
\n introduced to the industry through an internship at Wachovia
\n Securities, working downtown. From there, she joined CBRE\u2019s
\n research team, a common entry point into commercial real estate,
\n and has remained with the firm since then. This spring marks
\n nearly 20 years at the company.\n<\/p>\n

\n Over the past two decades, Follett has worked her way through
\n office leasing, tenant representation and management. For more
\n than a decade, she focused exclusively on office product,
\n following CBRE\u2019s philosophy that brokers build credibility
\n through specialization. Each deal reflected a different mix of
\n tenant needs, investor goals and market conditions.\n<\/p>\n

\n Today, Follett is a managing director and market leader at CBRE,
\n overseeing brokerage teams across its Sacramento, Roseville, Reno
\n and Central Valley offices. Her role includes managing the
\n advisory side of the firm\u2019s commercial real estate business and
\n supporting salespeople involved in leasing and transactions that
\n shape how companies operate and how cities function. She works
\n closely with brokers on business planning, development,
\n forecasting and pipeline reporting, and supports teams across
\n multiple service lines.\n<\/p>\n

\n Follett describes herself as a connector. \u201cI\u2019m always thinking
\n about how to help solve the problem,\u201d she says. \u201cSometimes that
\n means introducing someone to the right person. Sometimes it\u2019s
\n helping them see a different path.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n She credits early encouragement from mentors with shaping her
\n approach to leadership. Mark Fujiwara, who supervised her during
\n her internship, helped her recognize her own value early in her
\n career. Later, Dave Brennan, her predecessor in the regional
\n manager role, made sure she was included in important
\n conversations. \u201cHe pushed me to do things I didn\u2019t always want to
\n do,\u201d she says. \u201cBut it gave me the reps.\u201d\n<\/p>\n

\n \u201cI\u2019m always thinking about how to help solve the problem.
\n Sometimes that means introducing someone to the right person.
\n Sometimes it\u2019s helping them see a different path.\u201d\n <\/p>\n

\n In her current role, Follett focuses on developing early talent,
\n strengthening market coverage and helping brokers respond to
\n shifts in how companies use space. She works closely with teams
\n on business planning and forecasting while identifying gaps in
\n coverage across the region. She recently completed her presidency
\n with the Association of Commercial Real Estate and continues to
\n stay involved in industry initiatives.\n<\/p>\n

\n Outside of work, much of Follett\u2019s time is shaped by her husband,
\n Patrick, and two children, Chase, 9, and Kira, 7, whose sports
\n schedules fill much of the family calendar. They enjoy traveling
\n when possible, often planning weekend trips or visiting other
\n cities to attend professional sporting events. At home, the
\n household includes a 3-year-old goldendoodle named Harry, a
\n 13-year-old Maltese schnauzer mix named Chuck and a fish named
\n Norris Junior.\n<\/p>\n

\n When asked about her goals, Follett points to how emerging tools
\n like artificial intelligence may support decision-making in a
\n relationship-driven business. \u201cUnderstanding what those are and
\n making sure that we are deploying those tools in a responsible
\n way, but also at the time that we should be, so we\u2019re not losing
\n ground.\u201d She also emphasizes building stronger coverage across
\n the region and continuing to invest in talent development, with a
\n focus on helping teams adapt to a changing market while
\n maintaining the relationships that drive the business.\n<\/p>\n

\n \u2013\n<\/p>\n

\n View the\u00a0list of
\n honorees<\/a>\u00a0from 2015 through 2026.\n<\/p>\n

\n Get all the stories in our annual salute to women in
\n leadership delivered to your inbox: Subscribe to the Comstock\u2019s newsletter
\n today.<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"This story is part of our March 2026 issue. To read the print version, click here. …\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":213152,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[32],"tags":[121,123,122],"class_list":{"0":"post-213151","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-sacramento","8":"tag-sacramento","9":"tag-sacramento-headlines","10":"tag-sacramento-news"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213151","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=213151"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/213151\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/213152"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=213151"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=213151"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=213151"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}