Langley was the first choice to replace Tom Usher as managing director of the local C&W office last fall, but he had no interest in the role. It would mean only less money and more administrative work. Indeed, the offer only reaffirmed his commitment to finding a real test of the diverse skills he'd garnered over the years as a key consultant to the Boeing Co. and the lead broker for many of the bigger leasing, finance and disposition deals in Portland's recent past.

With C&W's local leadership role in flux, however, Langley decided not to rock the boat for the time being. Nonetheless, word of Langley's restlessness made its way into the office of Henry A. Ashforth III, president of locally based Ashforth Pacific Inc. The firm has substantial holdings on the East Coast and here in the Lloyd District, including the 17-story Liberty Centre completed in 1997 as a joint venture with Liberty Northwest Insurance Corp. Ashforth also is a board member and owner of Ashforth Co., the Stamford, CT-based parent company of Ashforth Pacific that was founded by his granddad in 1896.

Ashforth, who first met Langley while negotiating for the PacifiCorp portfolio that gave Ashforth Pacific its Portland foothold, quickly put in a call to Langley and requested a meeting to discuss the rumors, which Langley confirmed. "He asked if I would be interested in coming over, and I said 'I would be if I was coming over to take your job,'" Langley tells GlobeSt. "Thankfully, that's what he was thinking."

As much as Langley thinks he's getting the perfect opportunity to take his career to the next level, Ashforth believes he's getting the perfect person to take the company to the next level. "We're looking to Scott to use his $3 billion worth of real estate transaction experience to direct the growth of this company through acquisitions," Ashforth tells GlobeSt.com. "Asking him to come over was a pretty easy decision once I knew he wanted to leave the brokerage community. His experience and integrity and depth and breadth of knowledge is a terrific fit for us; it's definitely a step forward."

In addition to stepping up West Coast acquisitions, Langley will be responsible for all of the company's West Coast operations, including its management and construction services divisions, which handle both in-house and third party contracts. Ashforth Pacific manages close to 14 million sf of mostly class A office space, about 60% of which it owns. "Our in-house and third party property management and construction services are a little more limited in the West than in the East where we are headquartered," says Ashforth, who is assuming the role of CEO. "The idea is to balance that out through the acquisition and development of new assets and new third-party clients."

Langley says the markets he is currently targeting for acquisitions are Downtown Seattle, San Diego and Portland. As for capital, Ashforth is known as a well-heeled company that has longstanding relationships with key equity partners. "We're not talking about making another acquisition," says Langley. "We're talking about a series of acquisitions."

Bearing that out is the fact that today is Langley's first official day as the defacto quarterback of Ashforth Pacific, but he won't be in the office. He'll be recovering from his Cushman & Wakefield going-away party on a plane to Southern California. He's going to scope out a potential acquisition.

Instant Insights /

Langley Takes Ashforth Pacific Helm, Plans Aggressive Growth By Acquisition

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