Leadership at a Crossroads: Why the Boomer Exit is Real Estate’s Strategic Diversity Opportunity

This scale of turnover is not simply a demographic shift; it is a strategic pivot point. The choices firms make will determine not only who assumes leadership roles, but also how those leaders shape culture, strategy, and long-term value creation. Too often, organizations default to legacy succession pipelines that replicate the past rather than prepare for the future. Yet this is more than a continuity exercise — it is a rare chance to diversify leadership, broaden perspectives, and position the sector for stronger, more sustainable growth.

The Boomer Exit Is Impending

Real estate is already experiencing the effects of this demographic shift. A Harvard Law School study found that real estate boards had the oldest median age among S&P 500 companies, at 63. In private development firms and mid-cap REITs, long-tenured leaders are preparing to step aside — often without robust succession plans in place.

Unaddressed, such turnover can destabilize organizations and erode stakeholder confidence. For forward-looking firms, however, it represents an opening to align leadership with today’s imperatives: ESG accountability, tenant expectations, investor trust, and the growing body of evidence that diversity is not an aspiration, but a proven driver of performance.

Performance Requires Diversity

In Canadian real estate, fewer than 10% of CEOs are women — a striking imbalance given the overwhelming evidence that diverse leadership enhances organizational outcomes. The case is conclusive:

• Board performance: Companies with gender-diverse boards consistently outperform peers by 2–5% annually. A CFA Society analysis found that firms with more women directors deliver stronger returns on equity, better risk-adjusted performance, and more responsive governance. Bloomberg Intelligence confirmed the trend globally, noting return differentials of 11% in the US, 13% in Europe, and 35% in Asia-Pacific.

• Executive team impact: McKinsey research shows the performance gap between companies with the most and least women on executive teams has widened dramatically — from 15% in 2015 to 39% in 2023.
• Sustained value creation: Harvard Business Review found that Fortune 500 companies with the highest representation of women board directors outperformed those with the least by up to 66% on Return on Invested Capital.

The gains are particularly pronounced in small and mid-sized firms, common across real estate, where leadership decisions directly influence culture and client relationships. In a sector where stakeholder trust and long-term value creation are paramount, the conclusion is clear: firms that diversify leadership today will outperform tomorrow.

Search Strategy Matters

The greatest risk in this transition is treating succession as routine — promoting from within or recycling candidates from familiar networks. While comfortable, these approaches reinforce sameness, limit innovation, and perpetuate structural imbalances.

By contrast, strategic external search unlocks new opportunities. Firms that broaden their candidate pool can:

• Attract accomplished women executives from adjacent sectors such as infrastructure, finance, and urban development.
• Introduce expertise in sustainability, placemaking, capital deployment, and tenant engagement.
• Demonstrate visible alignment with ESG and DEI commitments, strengthening brand credibility with investors, tenants, and communities.

Succession planning must therefore be proactive, intentional, and inclusive. Organizations that adopt a broader search strategy will not only mitigate risk but also secure a decisive advantage in shaping the sector’s future.

The Choice Ahead

This leadership transition is already underway. The question is no longer whether change is coming, but how organizations will respond. Will they default to familiar approaches, replicating old patterns? Or will they seize this moment to reimagine leadership — embedding diversity, performance, and resilience at the core?

The decisions made now will determine more than market outcomes. They will define how Canadian real estate adapts to demographic change, meets rising expectations from investors and communities, and positions itself for sustainable growth.

This is the defining leadership transition of a generation. The firms that act boldly, focusing on reimagining succession to prioritize diversity, resilience, and performance, will set the standard for the sector’s future. At Boyden, we partner with organizations ready to lead that future, turning succession into a catalyst for lasting value.