The vacation begins in mid-September. Meantime, Bob Shibuya, who oversees the entire Western region for Insignia, tells GlobeSt.com Durdel is hard at work creating a short list of candidates to replace her as a senior partner in the Northwest. "I have in mind people I want to call," adds Durdel, without revealing any names.

Shibuya says the financial package for the new director will depend on the individual. "If the person has dealmaking abilities like Sonna, we would allow them to be involved in commissions," says Shiboya, "while someone with a pure management background would likely utilize that component."

Durdel, a former senior executive in the Koll Company, broke off and founded Forum Properties in April 1990 and promptly won a contract with the Principal Financial Group to manage 1.2 million square feet of industrial and office space she developed for PFG while at Koll.