Commercial Real Estate Elite: Broker To Brokers

  Today we visit Pennsylvania and I chat with Ryan Miller, the newly named Executive Vice President of NAI Global for the Eastern Region of North America. After a 10-year plus career as a broker for CBRE, Ryan now serves as more of a business development manager on behalf of NAI Members. Ryan's role is to develop strategy to maximize resources that will drive business and build the NAI Global brand. Ryan is a member of CoreNet Global and the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC). He was also recently named one of the Real Estate Forum’s Top 50 under 40 industry professionals.   During the course of our talk Ryan and I discuss his transition from brokerage to management and broker support. He endorses the importance of specialization. He shares some wins both in brokerage and his new role at NAI and also gives some strong advice for newer brokers. . I really enjoyed this talk because Ryan was able to share his experience from both brokerage and management perspectives. Enjoy!  

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Arizona and talk to Ari Spiro, President of Orion Investment Real Estate in Scottsdale. Ari has been involved in the real estate industry for nearly 20 years and has been a party over a billion dollars in total transactions. Ari is an interesting guest in that he actually switched from an established firm and founded his boutique firm with only two brokers at the time. He’s helped it grow to over 20 today. Ari’s got experience in commercial property management, leasing, and investment sales, has been cited in countless print publications, has appeared as a panelist at numerous conferences and is actively involved with ICSC. Ari is also committed to his local chapter of ICSC and serves on its Planning Action Committee where he has co-chaired several committees. During the course of our talk I ask Ari about his decision to start his own firm, we get into a number of great pieces of advice for newer brokers, we discuss an extremely effective marketing tool Orion has implemente

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Texas and talk to Coy Davidson, Senior Vice President of Colliers International's Houston office. Coy specializes in Tenant Representation with a focus on the office and healthcare industries. He’s a 23 year veteran of CRE brokerage. Coy was way ahead of the curve when it comes to technology and the potential social media has on our industry. In 2009, he started blogging about CRE and created an incredible resource via his personal website. Additionally, he’s leveraged Twitter, among other social media sites, as well as any broker that I've seen in the country. This was a very enlighting talk that I learned a lot from and I hope you do to.

In this week's CRE Elite, I introduce our first Featured Episode. These are reserved for value-add interviews that don't fit the mold of my typical show format. Throughout this process I've been exposed to amazing resources and talent. And, because I make the rules around here, I want to be able to share as much content as possible with you, my listeners. So in this interview, I get a chance to talk to Mike Carey, Vice-President of Tranzon Auction Properties out of Portland, Maine and we feature auctions. As you know by now, I'm a strong proponent of auctions for the right property and situation. In fact, you may recognize Mike as the contact for my show sponsor. The more Mike and I discussed CRE Elite and what it's mission is, I realized that he would be an ideal interview candidate. With direct auction experience spanning over ten years Mike has participated in over $100M in transactions including sales all over the country: A 1997 graduate of Wheaton College in Norton, MA, he lives in Portland, ME and is a

This week we visit California and talk to Brad Umansky, President of Progressive Real Estate Partners out of Rancho Cucamonga. Brad started his career in 1992 and became one of the leading retail brokers in Southern California having closed over 500 lease and sale transactions.   In 2008 he founded his firm and backed off on day-to-day brokerage activities. As a result, Brad is really different from my other guests thus far in that he's in more of a leadership & mentoring role. But he did spend almost two decades in brokerage and even wrote a book on CRE strategies for investment real estate called Value Added.   During the course of this talk, Brad drops a few nuggets from his book, he tells me about the Retail Brokerage Network, he promotes auctions as an alternative sales tool, and we roll through a TON of real life resources to find best CRE practices.  

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit New Hampshire and talk to Chris Norwood, President of NAI / The Norwood Group out of Bedford.  Chris’s primary focus is the sale and leasing of commercial real estate space in the Southern New Hampshire market. As President, Chris is also very involved with the overall strategic growth of the firm.Chris began his real estate brokerage career in 2000 when he became a licensed salesperson in the state of New Hampshire. Since that time he has assisted in closing tens of millions of dollars worth of sale and lease transactions over hundreds of thousands of square feet, as well as aided in consulting and valuation work.

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Colorado and talk to John Propp, President of John Propp Commercial Group just outside of Denver, CO.  John’s skills, fanatical attention to detail, extreme proficiency with numbers, responsiveness, patience, negotiation, compassion, assertiveness, diplomacy, CCIM education, and most importantly, sales ability, are perfectly suited to the real estate management business. John is equally comfortable working with the National Corporate Retailers as he is with the Mom and Pop business owners that make up such a large portion of the retail business. As an owner of real estate, John has the perspective needed to make prudent decisions that have a positive long-term effect on the profitability and viability of any project. As a landlord, he understands that the main reason for him being there is to service the needs of the customers, the tenants. During the course of our conversation we discuss his experiences in the early 90's developing opportunities via foreclosures, John share

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Rhode Island and talk to Michael Giuttari, the President and founder of MG Commercial Real Estate in Providence, Rhode Island.  Prior to forming MG Commercial, he was President, Principal Broker and one of the founders of another regional commercial real estate firm for 10 years. He has been in the commercial real estate business for 27 years. Mike is heavily involved with his local Board of Realtors, the chamber of commerce and is a great champion for the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR). His clients include CVS Pharmacy, Pepperidge Farm, Newell Rubbermaid, FedEx Ground, Hoechst-Celanese, Cintas, Highland Corporate Park (City of Woonsocket), F.W. Webb, Rhode Island Association of Realtors, and the Tasca Automotive Group. During the course of our conversation we discuss the importance of strong branding and name recognition, something that I took great interest in given my own experience at a smaller firm but one with great reputation. I also asked him about

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Ohio and talk to Greg Hrabcak, a broker at H.E.R. Commercial Realty Services out of Columbus, Ohio.  Greg started as a full time broker straight after graduating from The Ohio State University in 1984. He has been involved in the sale and leasing of Commercial, Industrial, Investment, Retail, Office real estate, as well as Business Brokerage sales throughout Central Ohio. In 2008 he served as the 100th president of the Columbus Board of Realtors. Greg is currently serving as the President Elect of the Ohio Association of Realtors and will serve as its President in 2015. He’s highly decorated including being named the  Columbus Board of Realtors Salesperson of the Year in 2012. During the course of our conversation we discuss competing brokerage collaboration and two groups that Greg is actively involved with. I also ask Greg about his heavy involvement in advocacy work on behalf of commercial brokers.

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit Florida and talk to Michael Fay, Chairman & Founding Partner of Colliers International South Florida office in Miami. Mike has been a commercial broker for over 30 years and has closed over $4 billion (with a B!), in transactions. He specializes in investment sales and has an acute understanding and experience working with lenders and special servicers on REO and note sales. Mike is the definition of a "rainmaker" and during the course of our interview he stressed teamwork and collaboration as the key to his success. He says the lone-wolf broker is a dying breed and his energy, drive and talent was obvious during our talk. I really enjoyed talking with him and hope you enjoy listening.

In this week's CRE Elite, we visit North Carolina and talk to Ellen Moore, a broker at Coldwell Banker Commercial Triad based in Winston Salem. She's been in the brokerage business for over 20 years, is very active in the community and has received numerous awards, most notably the 2012 Winston Regional Association of Realtors Commercial Practitioner of the Year. Ellen is my first female guest on CRE Elite and I took the opportunity to ask her about her experience in what is, frankly, a male dominated industry. Her candor and advice made for a great interview.

This week we visit the state of Vermont, home of  Ken Libby a broker at Stowe Realty in Stowe, Vermont. Ken is a highly decorated commercial real estate broker with over 30 years of experience. He is a 3-time Vermont Realtor of the Year. He specializes in single-family and 2nd home investment opportunities. At the national level, Libby is one of 43 members of the executive committee of the National Association of Realtors, which leads the 1.1-million-member organization. He was presidential liaison for the national association’s international and global division in 2010. He chairs the board of advisers for Associated Realty of the Americas, an invitation-only luxury real-estate referral network, which has members in Mexico, Canada, the U.S., plus a number of European countries.

Bill is a broker at Cook Commercial Properties in Jackson, Mississippi, and would you believe, among other things in his career, he spent 35 years as a very successful banker, but decided at the young age of 67 to transition to commercial real estate brokerage. 12 years later, he has been named the State of Mississippi’s commercial realtor of the year and is competing and beating, guys, literally 50 years his junior.

Today we’re talking with Steve Martin, the broker not the Saturday Night Live host. Steve is the owner and managing director at Sperry Van Ness Martin Commercial out of Evansville, Indiana. He specializes in multifamily, investment, retail and development. Evansville, he explains, is a smaller market so he dabbles in a lot of different sectors. He’s been in the business for 38 years and in 2013 was named the Indiana Commercial Realtor of the Year.

Tony is an eight-year veteran commercial broker after spending 13 years as a small business owner. We cover, among other things, the pros and cons of his transition from small business owner to broker.

The Masiello Group's Kevin Fletcher is a generalist. He specializes in everything: from investment and income-producing properties, to retail, office, industrial, and development opportunites throughout Maine and New Hamphire.

Derek Waltchack is an expert in retail brokerage, shopping center development and waterfront subdivisions.