"We're looking," he says. "We've just expanded for a third time in Portland, making room for seven additional brokers; that office has done great for us."

The company's platform has done well because it's local, independent and doesn't have a lot of layers, says Lyon. The company has 65 or 70 shareholders and no required return, he says.

"Those who produce reap the benefits while we cover our costs and make a modest return for providing the infrastructure," Lyon says. "After $100,000, the broker gets 90% of the commission and we get 10% and yet we still make money; we had a record year and record profits."

The company was launched in 1969 by Jerry Mathews and partners Bill Kidder and Bob James as a three-man industrial boutique. The company now has five offices and 250 employees, including 120 brokers, and leverages its infrastructure across three business lines, brokerage, property management and valuation. The firm is involved in over $2 billion of transactions annually, Lyon says.

Mathews recently stepped down as chairman to become chairman emeritus, but will to serve on the firm's strategic planning and compensation committees. Lyon, the firm's president and CEO for the past six years, is now chairman and CEO. The firm's COO, Gordon Buchan, is now president and COO.

Lyon says Mathews has been selling 20% of his interest in the firm for each of the past five years in preparation for change. "We use him from a strategic perspective, but he hasn't been involved in the day-to-day for years," Lyon says. "He does his own investment stuff, sits on several boards and has a place down in the desert."

Instant Insights /

Kidder Mathews Top Exec Sees Expansion in 2006

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