Bob Richards is an executive vice chair at Cushman & Wakefield, where he serves as a member of the firm’s global advisory board. Locally, Richards leads the Cambridge/Urban team and also heads the life science and healthcare practice groups. He’s seen as an industry expert and trusted advisor to his clients and peers and in 2020 completed the two largest office and laboratory lease transactions in New England.

The first was a 360,000-square-foot commitment by Bristol Myers Squibb to relocate its research operations to one of the most significant urban infill developments in the U.S. The second, a 264,000-square-foot commitment by CRISPR Therapeutics, a high-profile gene editing company, was headline news in that it was the first example of a rapidly growing life science company to relocate from Kendall Square and legitimize an emerging live-work-play life science hub that is starting to develop in South Boston.

Both of these transactions closed during the third quarter of 2020 and were extensively negotiated and finalized during the COVID-19 pandemic. The particular circumstances of the COVID-19 response required significant innovation in bringing parties together in a virtual way.