By Mike Myatt, Chief StrategyOfficer, N2growth

Today marksthe beginning of a series of interviews with some of thetop CEOs in the commercial real estate industry. First up is LarryHeard, President and CEO of Transwestern. Founded in 1978 andheadquartered in Houston, Texas, Transwestern has grown intoone of the country's largest privately held, nationwide,full service (Agency Leasing, Tenant Advisory, Investment Services,Development, Property & Facilities Management, Troubled Assetsand Research) commercial real estate firms. The reason I choseto begin with Larry Heard, is not only because he is highlyregarded for his leadership ability, but alsobecause Transwestern as a company is widely known to be one ofthe best managed companies in the commercial real estateindustry.As an advisor to CEOs, I have the priviledge of beingable to discuss the topics of leadership, strategy andbranding with CEOs on a daily basis. I felt it would beencouraging to many readers given the current state of thecommercial markets to view things through the lens of the chiefexecutives whom they may not otherwise have the opportunity tointeract with. Remember that it is the CEOs interviewed in thisseries that will be largely responsible for helpingto lead the industry back to better times. On with theinterview...Mike Myatt: Larry, for readers not familiarwith your background, please give us a brief summary of yourcommercial real estate career:LarryHeard: I started in the business in 1980 and becameimmersed in the development and leasing of the product we built formany years. The early 1980s was boom time in Houston, so I learnedmy way around the banks, design architects offices and on-siteconstruction shacks. I joined Transwestern in 1983, so I have onlyworked for two firms in my career. Since that time, I have enjoyedexpanding my areas of focus and expertise as our firm has grown anddeveloped into one of the largest private real estate firms in thecountry today. Ours is a terrific firm filled with motivated andhigh quality people - I am proud of what we havecreated.Mike Myatt: What has Transwestern done from astrategic and tactical perspective to successfully navigate thismarket?Larry Heard: Early on, wedeleveraged by paying off our corporate debt just before thedownturn, stayed almost singularly focused on the needs of ourclients and tried to continually elevate the workplace environmentat each Transwestern office around the country. As we have movedthrough this cycle we have been opportunistic with a few newinitiatives aimed at gaining market share. We are in the process ofworking with our clients from an investment perspective to takeadvantage of the opportunities that will present themselves overthe next year or two.Mike Myat: What do you see as yourprimary role as CEO from a leadershipperspective?Larry Heard:1.) To set a clear vision as to where we are going as a firm; 2.)To empower our top leaders and producers to design the road map toachieve the vision; 3.) To try to lead by example each and everyday, and; 4.) To make certain to serve those youlead.Mike Myatt: What is the most significantleadership decision you've made in2009?Larry Heard: In lightof the unprecedented economic decline the decision to dramaticallyreduce costs without reducing headcount. Our leadership teamrecognized early on that our people are the company. We have workedtoo hard to recruit and develop our team members and working unitsall over the country to dismantle them in response to the downturn.As the economic picture has finally stabilized a bit, we feel goodabout having our full complement of team members on the field readyto play the next half of the game.Mike Myatt: What isthe toughest leadership decision you've had to make in2009?Larry Heard: Theaforementioned decision. Our decision to cut costs, but not teammembers was made late last year when the economy, stock market andreal estate business appeared to be in a free fall. Transactionactivity had come to a virtual halt as decision makers took as muchtime as possible to make decisions. There was no clarity at thetime as to the depth of the economic slide. Job number one for meis to ensure the health, vibrancy and continuity of the company.So, sticking to our plan could have been second guessed as notdramatic enough. As noted above, at this point in the recovery, weare pleased with the steps we took and the results that arebeginning to emerge.Mike Myatt: How do you see marketschanging in 2010 if at all?LarryHeard: From a services perspective, and by that Imean transaction activity, I think activity will actually pick upin 2010 over 2009 levels. Now, that's not saying much, but it istrending in the right direction. The recovery will be slow, but Ithink steady. Real estate companies will make more money on lessrevenue than in the past due to the cost containment initiativesthat have been implemented. Real estate equity values will takelonger to recover because the decline has been so steep and thedeleveraging process is still underway. That said, most real estatepeople are resourceful and loaded with perseverance. We will justhave to prove it one more time...............Conclusions:Afterhaving the opportunity to look inside the mind of Larry Heard Ithink it's easy to see why I chose to begin this CEOinterview series with him. Larry is a person of greatcharacter who grasps the importance of servant leadership, vision,clear messaging, strategic planning and team building. Feelfree to leave your comments below, and stay tuned for next week'sinterview.