ATLANTA--Greg Winchester, co-CEO of Trimont Real Estate Investors, has seen plenty of challenges during his commercial real estate career. And he's overcome all of them.

Winchester focuses on asset management, new business development, and strategic planning for the company. He has over 30 years of industry experience in many roles, from underwriting, to originations, to asset management.

GlobeSt.com caught up with him to get his take on navigating tough market climates in part two of this exclusive interview. You can still read part one: Construction Lending Guru's Twists and Turns.

GlobeSt.com: What was the biggest challenge you've had to navigate in the commercial real estate industry?

Winchester: Without question, my greatest challenge was the crash in the late 1980s and early 1990s, which that began in Texas and spread to the rest of the country. It was an abrupt and harsh correction, and it took quite a number of years to work through.

Another tremendous challenge I navigated was when Lehman Brothers, our largest client at the time, filed for bankruptcy in 2008 and we were successful in working with the Lehman estate and many worldwide creditors worldwide in handling their commercial real estate portfolio through a very difficult situation.

GlobeSt.com: How did you get through that challenge?

Winchester: We got through both situations one day at a time, one deal at a time. We avoided overreaction, working hard to think through each situation and trying to realize best outcome for our clients and our company.

Most importantly, we had a great group of team members who worked together well and performed their jobs with excellence. And in the later case, we were fortunate to have substantially diversified our client base and we were debt-free going into the 2008 crash.