Executive Watch

Perspective

Today’s extraordinary demand for real estate professionals has highlighted a serious scarcity of talent in the 30-something category. The dearth of experienced candidates in this age group is an echo-effect from the real estate collapse of the early '90s, when freshly minted graduates steered clear of real estate to pursue other, healthier industries and what appeared to be better long-term career opportunities. This shortage creates significant present-day issues for organizations that want and need a blend of talent on their teams, especially to occupy the second chair, to leverage leadership and fulfill succession plans. The problem has reached epic proportions, as capital flows continue to fuel investment and development activity. In response, we see the gap being filled increasingly by late-stage career professionals who previously may have been viewed as too old to recruit but now are recognized as delivering extraordinary experience and the ability to hit the ground running. These seasoned pros also provide significant organizational leverage for growing and grooming the young talent that has flooded real estate, suddenly a trendy alternative for the hungry graduate.

Anthony J. LoPinto is CEO of Equinox Partners, an executive search firm specializing in the real estate industry, and parent company of SelectLeaders

The views expressed in this article are the author’s own.

Job Opportunities

LOWE ENTERPRISES INC.
(CALIFORNIA) Vice President, Corporate Director of Real Estate Sales The vice president will provide strategic direction and oversight for sales force organization, staffing and compensation plans, sales distribution and solicitation plans and will develop and maintain appropriate management information systems for all LDD projects and all real estate related residual businesses.

CB RICHARD ELLIS
(NEW YORK) Senior Controller He or she will maintain optimum client (internal and external) satisfaction, while guaranteeing CB Richard Ellis’ financial interests are being met and protected. The selected candidate may have the responsibility of overseeing the requirements for at least one strategic account client.

DISCOVERY REAL ESTATE SERVICES
(ILLINOIS) Senior Director Acquisitions This is a self-starter with demonstrable transaction experience over many years and in many product types. This person is well respected in the industry. This role deals with daily work of sourcing, underwriting, and closing deals in selected markets. This role is the primary source and identification of new investments.

NEW YORK LIFE INVESTMENT MANAGEMENT LLC
(NEW YORK) Investment Analyst – Loan Production The analyst will actively work with and support senior loan producers and will be involved in all aspects of the loan origination, due diligence, underwriting, and loan closing processes.

RREEF
(CALIFORNIA) Financial Analyst Primary duties and responsibilities will include, but are not limited, to assisting in preparation of the annual investment plan; and assisting in the management of the appraisal process by securing appraisal bids, tracking assignments and reporting results.

JONES LANG LASALLE
(CALIFORNIA) Project Manager We are currently seeking a project manager to join our project and development services group located in San Francisco. Our project and development services group provides a range of occupancy-related design, construction and relocation services for corporations, institutions and professional services firms.

GE COMMERCIAL FINANACE – REAL ESTATE
(CANADA) Associate Director The associate director will be responsible for assisting originators in screening loan submission packages for CMBS and Structured Finance loans; providing analytical and financial analysis support for CMBS and SF loan transactions; and providing due diligence and underwriting support for loan origination team.

Promotions

McSHANE CONSTRUCTION
(ROSEMONT, IL) Michael Winger, William C. Thomas, and Mark A. Osman ascend from senior project managers to project executives. Winger is a registered professional engineer in the state of Iowa and has been with the company since 1998. Thomas managed construction for the Lakeshore Medical Center in Chicago and received “Outstanding Project Manager of 2005-06.” Before his promotion, Osman worked as manager for key projects such as the 1.2 million sf John B. Sanfilippo & Son and 563,000 sf Royovac battery packaging and distribution center.

ATWELL-HICKS
(BRIGHTON, MI) Timothy Augustine, Thomas Covert, Nicholas Miller, Troy Paionk, Steven Sills and John Thompson are welcome to the firm as new partners. Augustine owned a management consulting firm prior to joining the company in 2004 as vice president of corporate services. Covert joined in 1990 as a summer intern and was most recently a project manager. Miller immediately started as a project manager in 2001 and focused his career on building the largest client development. Paionk serves as the commercial team leader in the firms Naperville office. In 2002, Sills was promoted to senior engineer from project engineer. Thompson joined in 2002 as Team Leader of Commercial services and during his tenure turned a two-person group into a 13-person group supporting new and existing clients.

FELCOR LODGING TRUST
(IRVING, TX) Jack Marraccini rises to senior vice president of engineering while Melissa Kendrick becomes vice president of project management and Kenneth Callihan earns vice president of corporate engineering.

STAUBACH CO.
(DENVER) Bill Byrne, Ken Gooden and Mike Rooks are named principals in the local office in recognition of their productivity, tenure and leadership.

SPAULDING & SLYE
(BOSTON) Dale Buckley rises to executive vice president while John Cremmen, Travis Powell and Linda Swain are accorded senior vice president titles. Promoted to vice president were Deb Ham, Flory McCarthy, Barrie Ferraro, Karl Ginand, Katy Gurkin, Edie Kloss and Harvey Pendleton. The new assistant vice presidents are Jennifer Daniels, Rick Schuhwerk, Tyler Spring, Kevin Mealey, Harvey Pentleton, Walter Shwert and Jim Silva.

CRESCENT RESOURCES
(CHARLOTTE, NC) Brooks Boyd becomes senior vice president of property management; Robert W. Duncan, senior vice president for the Florida team; Patrick G. Emery, senior vice president in Tennessee; and Henry Lomax, senior vice president of capital markets.

TRAMMELL CROW CO.
(ATLANTA) Tony Kepano, national practice leader for the logistics services group, and Whitney Knoll, leader of the East Coast retail investment team, are promoted to executive vice presidents.

GRANITE PROPERTIES
(PLANO, TX) Deanna Stringer rises to senior investment analyst and Will Hendrickson becomes investments associate.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD OF TEXAS
(DALLAS) Bill McClung is named executive vice president while Tom Salanty and Andrea Peskind are elevated to executive directors from senior directors. Also promoted were Matt Heidelbaugh, who goes from director to senior director, and Noel Hutcheson, a new associate director.

New Hires

GRUBB & ELLIS
(BOSTON) John Coakley joins the Boston firm as an advisor with the suburban office group. Coakley previously was an associate at Parsons Commercial where he worked in landlord and tenant representation with companies such as Cascade Promotional Corp., New Boston Fund and Planet Fitness. Coakley was involved with lease transactions totaling 200,000 sf.

CLAYCO
(ST. LOUIS) James O. Callaway becomes project manager in the St. Louis office, overseeing the process of turning design-build ideas into concrete construction. Before Calloway’s new position, he worked 16 years as vice president of construction and design with Johnny Carino’s Italian Restaurant in Athens, GA.

OPUS
(MINNEAPOLIS) Mark Brown and Kent Gubler come aboard Opus’ national accounts team. As directors of national accounts, they will be focusing on the needs of past, current, and future real estate customers. Brown worked at an enterprise software firm where he was client partner with Coca-Cola. Previously senior vice president for Cassidy & Pinkard, Gubler oversaw business generation in the Maryland and DC markets.

MARSHALL MANAGEMENT
(SALISBURY, MD) Newcomers Benjamin Seidel and Patrick Welton join the firm as executives on the senior management team. Seidel saddles up as executive vice president, after serving as senior vice-president of operations for Philadelphia based GF Management. Welton previously worked as revenue manager for Staybridge Suites brand, and is now responsible for revenue for each hotel in the company’s management portfolio as the corporate director of revenue.

THE WILDER COMPANIES
(BOSTON) Wilder appoints two new vice presidents, Lori A. McWeeney and Peter Bergner. Past senior member of the leasing team for Weiner and Associates, vice president of leasing McWeeney is now responsible for all retail leasing. NY attorney Bergner is now vice president of acquisitions/site selection and leasing. Based in Palm Beach, he focuses on developing real estate opportunities.

CRIMSON SERVICES
(DENVER) New additions Bill Balkovatz and Shane Seitz join the Denver regional office. Balkovatz most recently worked as director of office leasing and acquisitions for the pauls corp. and is now the managing director in the Denver office. Financial analyst in the Denver office, Seitz previously worked two years in residential and commercial property management.

SKANSKA
(BLUE BELL, PA) Skanska USA building Inc. has brought aboard William Johnson as senior director of purchasing and project controls, and William Sahwell as account manager of pharmaceuticals, both for the Pennsylvania office. Johnson has more than 25 years of construction experience, and worked with companies such as Rutgers University, and Johnson & Johnson. Sahwell has experience working with high-profile clients such as Ortho Pharmaceutical, Bristol Meyers, Janssen Pharmaceutical, and is now responsible for assisting and working with all pharmaceutical clients.

AZTEC
(MIAMI) Hollie Benevides becomes senior analyst, teaming up with managing director Jason Shapiro. They will be working together to secure financing for commercial properties, conducting market research and performing financial analysis. Prior to joining Aztec, Benevides has five years of real estate experience.

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Tony LoPinto is the Global Sector Leader of Korn Ferry’s Real Estate Practice and founder of SelectLeaders. For the past 18 years LoPinto has been serving his clients with deep knowledge and perspective on talent needs and organizational challenges to public and private companies – knowledge gained from a 25-year career in real estate. Prior to his current position, he founded and served as chief executive officer of a boutique real estate executive search firm, where he oversaw offices in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has successfully led several high profile search engagements for chief executive officers, directors and a wide-range of executive level positions across all industries and sectors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in European history from Loyola University in Chicago.