Nelson Leaving, Stirek Transitioning Local Trammell Crow Office

PORTLAND-Chris Nelson is leaving his post as managing director of Trammell Crow Co.’s Portland-area operations to start his own real estate development and investment company. In Nelson’s place, temporarily, is Nelson’s predecessor, John Sterik, a Portland native whom TC promoted last year to chief operating officer of its Global Services Group.

“I came back Friday to tell the office,” says Stirek, who responded to a GlobeSt.com email query during his flight back to Dallas, where TC is headquartered. “At this point I am not returning full time, but taking direct personal responsibility to fill in and find the long term solution.

Nelson, a 13-year veteran of Trammell Crow, tells GlobeSt.com the company changed dramatically during his tenure there, growing from a smaller, more entrepreneurial operation to a large, publicly-traded fee developer that can no longer offer its employees a piece of the action. “There are no hard feelings,” says Nelson. “After receiving calls from headhunters over the last year and evaluating a lot of different options, I decided it was most appropriate for me to start my own business.”