Clarke assumes oversight of operations, service delivery and business development initiatives.
SEATTLE—A three-region approach has been adopted for Transwestern Commercial Services in order to engage performance, capitalize on synergies and enhance client connectivity. To support these goals, Bruce Ford has been named president of the company's East region and Chip Clarke has been named president of the company's West region.
Clarke assumes responsibilities for the commercial services business in offices in California, Arizona, Colorado and Washington. Having served at Transwestern for close to three decades, he has held senior leadership positions that have included local, regional and national oversight for all the company's service lines.
Last year, Clarke spearheaded the framework for the company's strategic account management program, a coordinated approach that offers top-tier clients deep business intelligence, customized research and targeted service offerings through a dedicated relationship manager and account management team. Moreover, he has been instrumental in the firm's geographic expansion.
“Commercial real estate continues to perform well in the Western US because of strong job growth and the simple fact that these markets are where people want to live,” Clarke tells GlobeSt.com. “Whenever in-migration and job creation is strong, it bodes well for commercial real estate. Denver, Seattle, the Bay Area, Greater Los Angeles and Phoenix all have those strong fundamentals in place, so it's hard not to bullish about the future of commercial real estate in those markets. Today, site selection is as much about access to a diverse labor pool and understanding labor analytics as it is about the benefits of a premier location. It's all about attracting and retaining talent.”
To that end, Clarke says Transwestern is going to focus on complementing its existing teams in Southern California, Seattle and San Francisco going forward.
“Our San Francisco office leader, Jeff Moeller, has had excellent recruiting success to expand our competencies in that dynamic market and will be announcing additional significant hires soon,” Clarke tells GlobeSt.com. “We will primarily focus on recruiting leasing talent in both landlord representation and occupier solutions in the office and industrial sectors.”
Clarke says Transwestern has already completed several key new hires in the West, including Mark Stratz, who leads the Phoenix office, and his partner Scott Baumgarten.
“They just brought on Arizona icon Jim Fijan, who brings with him valuable relationships from across the country,” Clarke tells GlobeSt.com. “In Denver, Whitney Hake and Billy Woodward have had a tremendous impact on our business development.”
Clarke also led the young professionals initiative that brings together the next generation of leaders through networking, idea exchange, business development and community service. And in 2016, he was a driving force behind the company's relationship with its first-ever national philanthropy partner, Make-A-Wish, which raised more than $550,000 for the organization in a three-year period.
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Lisa Brown
Lisa Brown is an editor for the south and west regions of GlobeSt.com. She has 25-plus years of real estate experience, with a regional PR role at Grubb & Ellis and a national communications position at MMI. Brown also spent 10 years as executive director at NAIOP San Francisco Bay Area chapter, where she led the organization to achieving its first national award honors and recognition on Capitol Hill. She has written extensively on commercial real estate topics and edited numerous pieces on the subject.
