Executive Watch

Perspective

The lazy, hazy days of summer are in full swing, setting the stage for, historically, a time when many executives take vacation for a week or two with family and friends at the beach, and hiring activity comes to a crawl. But, that’s not the case this year. We continue to experience robust recruiting at both senior levels and for mid-level professionals across all sectors, particularly for developers and investment types. Mid-year has always been a sluggish recruiting period for a variety of reasons: the summer slowdown, the cost of hiring someone and having to cover a full year’s bonus, and the beginning of a look forward into the next year, which often can result in deferring some hiring decisions until the budget comes into sharper view. However, the good news is that this summer’s surprisingly strong recruitment activity implies that executives continue to forecast stability and growth into ’07, so you can relax and bring on a double lemonade.

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

ERNST AND YOUNG
(NEW YORK) Senior Associate-Transaction Real Estate Our transaction real estate professionals typically serve as a member of multiple client engagement teams, where an individual will primarily assist, in real estate advisory engagements within a fast-paced, service-oriented business environment.

NEWMARK KNIGHT FRANK
(MOSCOW) Head of Asset Management You will lead the team responsible for the tallest tower in Europe--an impressive development scheme and a very prestigious, high-profile role. This is a new position in a new market so the successful candidate must show superior business development skills and as the department grows; strong team-building and management expertise.

LOWE ENTERPRISES
(SOUTH CAROLINA) Vice President and Development Controller The selected candidate will be responsible for providing the company management with relevant financial data necessary for the development and sale of condo units at the new Village at Wild Dunes Resort.

SELECTLEADERS
(MIDWEST) Vice President and Chief Financial OfficerThe successful candidate will be an accomplished finance and accounting professional with significant capital markets experience and in-depth knowledge of accounting issues, procedures and terminology as they relate to the real estate industry.

TRAMMELL CROW CO.
( MINNESOTA) Project Manager The ideal candidate will be able to coordinate various projects, including new construction, renovations, and major repairs of new and existing offices. This also includes designing and developing tenant improvement plans of various sizes and difficultly from project inception to financial closure.

TARGET
(MINNESOTA) Real Estate Manager – Expansions and Remodels This position entails supervising all real estate activities necessary to affect the physical expansion and remodeling of existing stores consistent with Target Corp.’s annual expansion/remodel allocation in designated geographic areas.

GLIMCHER REALTY TRUST
(OHIO) Director of Investment Relations and Corporate Communications The director of investor relations and corporate communications is a new position; he/she will be responsible for the development and management of all corporate communication and investor relations communications strategies.

Promotions

GVA ADVANTIS
(CENTRAL FLORIDA) Michael Winters rises to managing director in the Central Florida region after a year with the firm.

INTERSTATE HOTELS & RESORTS
(ARLINGTON, VA) Christopher L. Bennett earns a berth as executive vice president and general counsel after an eight-year stint as senior vice president and general counsel.

CB RICHARD ELLIS
(WASHINGTON, DC) Mary Jo Eaton is named managing director of asset services for the Washington, DC-Baltimore region. Kelly Koukou and Bill Wolf get senior vice president slots in the Long Island and Allentown offices, respectively. Also in the Long Island office, Ralph Guiffre rises to senior associate after five years with the firm. A 20-year professional, Eaton came on board last year to lead CBRE's asset services group in Philadelphia. Koukou, with more than 10 years in the business, was promoted from first vice president as was Wolf, a 25-year veteran.

ADVANCE REALTY GROUP
(BEDMINSTER, NJ) Joseph Tobia rises to senior manager, tasked with responsibility for all insurance and risk management-related issues as well as environmental due diligence for acquisitions. The former property manager also will oversee a portfolio-wide energy initiative.

TRAMMELL CROW CO.
(NEW YORK CITY) Long-time partners Dirk Hrobsky and Chris Helgesen earn berths as senior vice presidents. The pair has been instrumental in building the New York corporate advisory services' business.

New Hires

GRIFFIN CAPITAL
(LOS ANGELES) Veteran Michael Escalante joins the firm as chief investment officer. He will be responsible for overseeing all acquisition and disposition activities.

FIFIELD REALTY CO.
(IRVINE, CA) Jack Bousquet, a 30-year professional, takes a seat as vice president of design and construction. He most recently was senior vice president for the Kor Group.

BROADWAY REAL ESTATE PARTNERS
(NEW YORK CITY) Tyler Wiggers is named vice president of finance and Jonathan M. Brundige becomes associate general counsel. Wiggers previously was an associate director for Barclays Capital Real Estate Group. Brundige was part of the real estate group at Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP.

SPERRY VAN NESS
(HOUSTON) Greer Lee assumes a senior investment adviser's role to add another Sperry Van Ness office in South Texas. The broker, previously with Scoggin Blue LLC, specializes in land and hospitality properties.

MOHR PARTNERS
(DALLAS) John Stampes joins as director of development for project management services after a long-time stint as senior vice president for the Amend Group.

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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.