The Hottest Openings; Insightful Commentary

Perspective

Its budget season for most companies, public and private, and the most significant line-item is compensation. Everyone agrees that we've had a good run over the past two years, and many professionals have enjoyed the fruits of a strong market and earned healthy financial rewards. However, most of the upside has been in the form of incentives--bonuses, stock grants and options and other non-recurring compensation--and base salaries have been held in check. Rather, the focus has been on pay-for-performance compensation. The extreme in this approach has always been most common within the investment banking arena, where base salaries hover generally around $150,000 while top-tier payouts commonly reach seven-figures. These days, compensation at REITs is also tilting increasingly toward the bonus column. As Excel spreadsheets get cranking for '07, I predict that compensation levels will, overall, stay flat. Since most markets are mature, while recruiting levels remain high, compensation should not escalate. If budgets begin to miss the mark, we will undoubtedly experience the flipside of the pay-for-performance model.

Tony 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

SELECTLEADERS
(LOS ANGELES) Junior Associate/Analyst The position will perform financial analyses and market research, prepare investment memoranda, assist in the marketing of equity and debt transactions, facilitate the due diligence process and evaluate potential investment and financing proposals.

JONES LANG LASALLE
(LOS ANGELES) Transaction Manager The individual will be a member of the Nationals Account Team with a primary focus in Southern California. Specific duties include working with the client to set business and real estate strategies and objectives for real estate, identifying suitable alternatives to support those objectives and procuring real estate on behalf of the client through the negotiation of lease and purchase agreements.

THOR EQUITIES, LLC
(NEW YORK) Director of Development Position reports to the executive vice president of development. Successful candidate will be responsible for ground-up redevelopment projects in all areas specifically retail. Candidate must possess the ability to provide economical analysis and have extensive knowledge of planning and policy.

LOWE ENTERPRISES, INC.
(LOS ANGELES) Vice President, Corporate Director of Real Estate Sales The VP 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.

EQUITY OFFICE PROPERTIES
(CHICAGO) Manager of Pricing Financial Analysis Key activities will include managing the analytical support staff and providing timely analytic support to the leasing team in evaluating lease deals. The manager will be located at the corporate office in Chicago, and will report to a pricing director.

URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
(WASHINGTON, DC) Executive Director, Washington, DC District Council The successful candidate must have strong organizational and management skills, and have a background working with volunteers who include real estate industry professionals, public officials, corporate executives, and senior members of the real estate community.

SELECTLEADERS
(CHICAGO) Commercial Real Estate Underwriter The individual will be responsible for all aspects of the due diligence/underwriting process for commercial properties to include retail, office, industrial, hotels, multifamily, mobile home parks and self-storage facilities for both debt and equity investments.

Promotions

SONNENBLICK GOLDMAN
(NEW YORK) Dave Karson is named director after three years as vice president. Linda Yang is promoted to senior associate and Steven Vazquez to associate for the international lodging and leisure group. Amy Shah and Matthew Lembo, both analysts, are made associates assigned to marketing transactions to lenders and investors plus providing support analysis.

LEE & ASSOCIATES
(LAS VEGAS) Stephen R. Spelman is named president of the Las Vegas office. He replaces G. Rodney Harbaugh, who remains on the team as a senior vice president.

JONES LANG LASALLE
(LOS ANGELES) Lisa Marquis is named managing director to lead the Western region while Judy Caruthers rises to senior vice president in the project and development services division. Marquis previously was senior vice president and Caruthers was a vice president.

FLAGLER DEVELOPMENT GROUP
(JACKSONVILLE, FL) Keith A. Tickell rises to executive vice president after overseeing development in north, central and south Florida.

MB REAL ESTATE
(CHICAGO) Kevin Purcell and Andrew Davidson are made executive vice presidents. Purcell's territory is the Midwest and Davidson's focus is Chicago.

LEVIN MANAGEMENT
(NORTH PLAINFIELD, NJ) Robert Carson rises to executive vice president after 14 years with the firm.

New Hires

LOWE ENTERPRISES
(LOS ANGELES) Afshin Kateb assumes a senior vice president's title with the move from the Kor Group, where he was CFO.

INTERSTATE HOTELS & RESORTS
(ARLINGTON, VA) James F. Dannhauser, former CFO for Six Flags Inc., is elected to the board of directors for the hotel management company.

FOUNTAIN SQUARE DEVELOPMENT
(RESTON, VA) Harley Cook joins the three-year-old firm as a development partner. He previously was an executive for Sunrise Senior Living.

PRINCIPAL REAL ESTATE INVESTORS
(DES MOINES) Christopher Aust comes on board as director of acquisitions and dispositions, assigned to the Pacific Northwest. The 15-year professional previously was with Cushman & Wakefield Inc.

ADVANCE REALTY GROUP
(BEDMINSTER, NJ) Larry Hilaire joins as vice president of the development division. The 18-year professional has spent the past eight years with the Houston-based Hines' New York City office.

HUDSON REALTY CAPITAL
(NEW YORK CITY) Andrew J. Bloom takes as seat as director and general counsel after spending eight years in the real estate practice group of Sidley Austin LLP.

REAL ESTATE BOARD OF NEW YORK
(NEW YORK CITY) Neil B. Garfinkel has been retained as the organization's new residential legal counsel to oversee a newly created Residential Legal Line. He is partner-in-charge of real estate and banking practices at Abrams Garfinkel Margolis Bergson LLP.

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NOT FOR REPRINT

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.