SAN DIEGO—The impetus behind the recent executive moves to NGKF's capital-markets roster is the people—both the people already there and those who are making the moves—and the firm's entrepreneurial culture, Pete Bethea and Greg May tell GlobeSt.com. As we recently reported, eight professionals comprising Newmark Grubb Knight Frank's retail brokerage team have join the company's capital-markets bench in San Diego and Newport Beach, led by Pete Bethea here as executive managing director. The team most recently served at Cushman & Wakefield.

In addition, as we also recently reported, Kevin Shannon has joined NGKF as West Coast president of the firm's capital markets group. Shannon is one of the premier investment sales brokers on the West Coast, and was formerly the vice chairman in the capital markets group at CBRE. He joins NGKF with his team of 14 other capital markets executives.

GlobeSt.com spoke exclusively with Bethea and EVP and regional manager May to get a deeper understanding of these moves and the direction of the firm's capital-markets business in Southern California.

GlobeSt.com: Pete, why did you decide to join NGKF?

Bethea: You get to a certain stage in your career where you've spent a lot of time creating relationships and building a practice. NGKF is a very entrepreneurial firm with the capital to back up its goals. We wanted to be on the front end of something great, and there's a regional feel to the global platform here, with access to the higher-ups. I talk to the CEO Barry Gosin as much as I talk to Greg May, and that's refreshing; it doesn't happen in most firms. Plus, NGKF sees the value in being able to keep a large team intact. Everybody is as important as anybody else at the table. This business runs in different cycles, and sometimes capital markets can have more at the table, and other times it's leasing. Here, we can provide the same service to our clients that's seamless regardless of where we are in the cycle.

On a national level, the most important thing in recruiting and bringing people over is people and strategy. Nobody is letting anybody in the barn who isn't a great person first or great at what they do second. You can't have a culture without the right DNA and people. When we came here, everyone to a man and a woman was all in; the attitude and the people were first.

GlobeSt.com: Greg, what was the impetus for NGKF to add this team of professionals to its roster?

May: It's fun to work with people you like. I've had my eye on Pete and his team for quite a while. They are well respected in the marketplace, and that's what we want to build. We have to have the best in every category, and we were lacking in the retail capital markets. We also needed to add to our retail leasing capabilities, and there's no better team than Pete's in Southern California.

GlobeSt.com: What can you tell me about this NGKF retail team and its plans moving forward?

Bethea: I can really speak to the leasing. There are very talented leasing folks in the west at NGKF. We are pursuing key professionals in key markets to allow us to cover the west as a team. Our business is very portable, and with the right team members and talent, we can transact outside of our zip code, so to speak. We don't want to overpopulate, but if we feel we have some holes and find companies or individuals to fill those holes, we will do so.

GlobeSt.com: What are the greatest challenges to investment in the San Diego market?

Bethea: The biggest problem in the San Diego retail investment market—as in most of Southern California—is the availability of inventory. Limited supply here will keep cap rates relatively low over the short term, but the lack of supply is an issue. If you own quality retail, it's very valuable, so you don't want to sell it, whether you're a private or institutional owner.

GlobeSt.com: What is the firm's strategy for San Diego going forward, since so many of the hires are in that market?

May: In all the markets where we have offices, we try to fill the voids we have with the brokers who specialize in the different product categories. San Diego is one of our smaller offices, and it has a lot of opportunity for growth. Right now, we're focused on adding to the office and building up our landlord/agency practice for industrial and office, as well as more tenant-rep brokers to give the platform down there a full-service perspective.

GlobeSt.com: What else should we know about your Southern California region and growth plans over the next six to 12 months?

May: Within the last six months, we have brought in one of the top multifamily brokers in Southern California, Curtis Palmer; Pete Bethea and his team; and Kevin Shannon. Overnight, we have become a Southern California capital-markets powerhouse. It's amazing how fast it's happened. All those high-profile hires and others who have joined us recently have made us a safe choice. People who are looking for a more broker-centric culture are finding us, and because of that we're been very active in that area of recruiting.