With the exception of World War II military service, where he enlisted as a buck private and achieved the rank of captain, he spent his entire business career at the firm, remaining an active broker until his death.
He oversaw an expansion of the business into a nationwide force and was credited with transforming Cushman & Wakefield from a family-owned building management concern into a leading real estate services organization.
As agent or consultant, Peters represented almost every major investment builder, as well as many large institutional owners in the industrial, banking and insurance fields around the U.S. and abroad.
An avid horseman, Leone J. Peters partnered with Arthur B. Hancock III, of the renowned Kentucky breeding operation, Claiborne Farm.
Peters was active in many civic organizations, serving as a patron of the New York Metropolitan Opera, a director of Tiro A Segno and the Columbus Citizens Committee, and a member of the board of the Real Estate Council for Lincoln Center.