Langley was the first choice to replace Tom Usher as managing director of the local C&W office last fall, but he had no interest in the role. It would mean only less money and more administrative work. Indeed, the offer only reaffirmed his commitment to finding a real test of the diverse skills he'd garnered over the years as a key consultant to the Boeing Co. and the lead broker for many of the bigger leasing, finance and disposition deals in Portland's recent past.

With C&W's local leadership role in flux, however, Langley decided not to rock the boat for the time being. Nonetheless, word of Langley's restlessness made its way into the office of Henry A. Ashforth III, president of locally based Ashforth Pacific Inc. The firm has substantial holdings on the East Coast and here in the Lloyd District, including the 17-story Liberty Centre completed in 1997 as a joint venture with Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. Ashforth also is a board member and owner of Ashforth Co., the Stamford, CT-based parent company of Ashforth Pacific that was founded by his granddad in 1896.

Ashforth, who first met Langley while negotiating for the PacifiCorp portfolio that gave Ashforth Pacific its Portland foothold, quickly put in a call to Langley and requested a meeting to discuss the rumors, which Langley confirmed. "He asked if I would be interested in coming over, and I said 'I would be if I was coming over to take your job,'" Langley tells GlobeSt. "Thankfully, that's what he was thinking."