CEO Interview: Peter C. Roberts, Jones Lang LaSalle

By Mike Myatt, Chief StrategyOfficer, N2growth

Peter C. Roberts is Chief ExecutiveOfficer, Americas for Jones Lang LaSalle (NYSE: JLL). JonesLang LaSalle has more than 30,000 people in 750locations across 60 countries. What better person tointerview on topics of leadership and commercial real estate thanthe CEO of the firm that has been recognized as the best overallprovider of corporate real estate services by the Watkins 2009Survey of Corporate Real Estate Service Providers. Of the 19providers evaluated by the largest users of commercial real estateservices, Jones Lang LaSalle was rated #1 in every category,including delivery of results, adaptability of services, pricing,reputation and financial strength. On with theinterview...Mike Myatt: Peter, for our readerswho may not be familiar with your background, would you pleaseshare a brief summary of your career history?Peter C.Roberts: My first experience in the real estate industrywas a summer job with Trammell Crow in Houston in 1985. I learnedduring that experience that I liked real estate but I didn't wantto start my career in development. I joined what was then LaSallePartners in Chicago in 1986, starting my career in Capital Markets.After 61/2 years, I moved to New York and spent the next eightyears in Tenant Representation before moving back to Chicago in2001 to become Jones Lang LaSalle's global Chief Financial Officer.I relocated again in 2002, this time to London, as the firm'sglobal Chief Operating Officer, and then returned to Chicago in2003 in my current role as Chief Executive Officer for the Americasregion.Mike Myatt: How do you view the currentcommercial real estate market, and where do you see it trending in2010?Peter C. Roberts: The overall market isclearly suffering from the effects of the financial crisis and therecession. Activity levels are down dramatically, fundamentalsremain weak and price discovery for assets is challenging at best.So, what happens from here?We expect the growth we're seeing inoutsourcing to continue as occupiers seek to drive efficiencies andcost savings through outsourcing of functions such as facilitymanagement, transactions and space planning. The pressure onbusinesses to reduce costs to remain competitive will notabate.Leasing activity may start to pick up during 2010. Withincreasing vacancy and continued pressure on rental rates, tenantscould see a growing window of opportunity with regard to choice andcost. Just to cite one asset class - the office market - we expectoverall vacancy to peak above 20 percent in late 2010 or early2011. While sublease vacancies remain 38 percent below the peaklevel of the last recession, sublease availability is expected torise well into 2010.With the downward re-pricing of assets andcontinued slow demand for space, distress among property ownerswill usher in some of the industry's most attractive investmentplays in the next few years. The volume of distressed propertiesnationwide continues to build steadily, recently surpassing $100billion. This total will likely continue to increase over thecoming quarters as commercial mortgage maturities grow in 2010 andwill surpass the $400 billion mark annually by2012.Mike Myatt: What do you see as JLL'sstrongest competitive value proposition?Peter C.Roberts: I believe that the best companies - the mostcompetitive - are those that have the strongest alignment of theirentire business: strategy, business model, culture, compensationphilosophy, etc. I see a direct correlation between the degree ofalignment of these elements and the success of the company.Ourstrongest competitive value proposition starts with our culture,which is all about placing our clients' interests first, teamwork,integrity and trust.In our business, being able to deliver all thebenefits of our firm through a single point of contact is key toour ability to align our actions with our clients' needs. Thisalignment creates real value in our clients' eyes because theytrust us to be proactive and to exceed their expectations on aconsistent basis. Our ability to exceed our clients' expectationsday in and day out rests on the strength of ourculture.Mike Myatt: What do you see as yourprimary role as CEO?Peter C. Roberts: Myprimary role as CEO is working with others. That may sound strange,but if the CEO is ultimately accountable for vision, strategy,performance of the organization (both financial and qualitative),and the long term, sustainable success of the organization, none ofthat can be accomplished alone. So establishing a vision, andworking with the leadership team to shape it and mold it intoreality, is an example. Working with the leadership team toestablish strategic priorities to achieve the vision is another.Empowering leaders, and the organization, to execute the strategyis another.I think another key role for the CEO is to ensure thatthe "voice of the customer" resonates within the organization.Bringing that voice, and the client's needs, to the table for everymajor decision is important for a client-driven firm. Finally, Ithink the "tone at the top" is critically important for anyorganization, and that tone at the top starts with theCEO.Mike Myatt: Do you have a mentor, and howimportant was that person to you in term of your professionaldevelopment?Peter C. Roberts: I've actuallyhad so many mentors, I've lost count! I've always believed that youcan learn more from others than you can from what you read. I'vealso believed that there should be no end to one's personal growthand self improvement. So I look for every opportunity to learn fromothers either more experienced than I or simply with differentexperiences than I have had. I look for opportunities to learn frommentors every day.Mike Myatt: What books areyou currently reading?Peter C. Roberts: Well,you're catching me right after my birthday, and being a big BriceSpringsteen fan, I received Runaway Dream: Born To Run and BruceSpringsteen's American Vision. So I just cracked that one. Also,Think Big, Act Small by Jason Jennings.MikeMyatt: What would you say was your "defining moment" as anexecutive?Peter C. Roberts: I really don'tview my career, or my work, as a series of "moments." So theclosest thing that comes to mind is really the last five years.Five years ago, we worked with our leadership team to establishseveral concrete strategic priorities. We also established afinancial goal that we thought was achievable if we executedsuccessfully on our strategic priorities and we had a favorableeconomic climate. Well, the end of the five year period is the endof this year. While we all know that the economic climate has notremained favorable, we have focused unrelentingly on our strategicpriorities, and at the end of this year we will have exceeded ourfive year goal by 31%! It has been a fun journey, and it marks thebeginning of the next chapter.....Mike Myatt:What do you see as your greatest leadershipstrength?Peter C. Roberts: A combination ofan innate belief that everyone can bring something of value to thetable, and a focused commitment to connecting with, and listeningto, people.Mike Myatt: What is the toughestleadership decision you have had to make thus far in2009?Peter C. Roberts: As we, and mostcompanies, have focused on cost savings this year, the toughestdecisions centered around right sizing our cost structure -specifically involving staff and compensation. These are toughbecause they affect people, and people are our most importantasset. It's always hard to lose people and, as a leader, thesedecisions are the hardest to make.Mike Myatt:If you could give one piece of advice to our readers what wouldthat be?Peter C. Roberts: I would share apiece of advice that I learned from one of those many mentors:Everyone else is at least as smart as you are, if not smarter. So,if you see something, you can bet your bottom dollar that everyoneelse sees it, too.Conclusion:I think it's clear to anyone readingthis interview that Peter's humility, his commitment to the peoplehe works with, and to his clients have served him well. It'sno wonder that under his leadership that JLL is consistentlyone of the most highly regarded brands in commercial realestate.

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