Staubach Drafts Another Key DFW Exec

For Staubach, it's an ongoing drive to build the top team to grow the business. Stephen L. Thelen, an 11-year veteran, is the latest to be snatched up in what is considered run-of-the-mill growth. "All we're trying to do," Ka Cotter, Staubach vice chairman and president, tells GlobeSt.com, "is grow our business and bring the right people here to do it."

Bruce Mosler, C&W's president of US operations, says Thelen will be missed, but Texas "has been a tremendous area of excitement." That, he points out, is due to the merger with Cushman Realty and the talent that came with it in Houston as well as "the vigor Liz Trocchio brings" as the Dallas leader. "As with any significant change, some people don't share the corporate vision or need to move on," says Mosler.

Thelen has elected to move on. But, he leaves a legacy as a repeat top producer at C&W and recipient of numerous industry awards from within the company and brokerage associations. He helped sell the metroplex in winning bids for corporate relocations by JCPenney, Pizza Hut, Lacerte Software, AmeriServe, MetaSolv Software and Panja. Thelen was one of 14 senior directors in C&W's Dallas hierarchy.

"Steve's strong tenant-focused background and history of being a large volume producer will be very advantageous to the Staubach Co. and our clients," says John Gates, president of Staubach's corporate services division.

Cotter says the push to hire the best in the industry is not limited to Dallas. "Every office has a challenge to grow the market share," she says. "How they do it is what Elysia Holt Ragusa works on." In July, Ragusa was named president of the newly formed Real Estate Services and Cotter moved into the vice chairman's role.

Cotter stresses to GlobeSt.com that the new faces are just indicative of the way Staubach's always operated. In a nutshell, Cotter says the tactic boils down to "who are the top people in my market, do they want to work for Staubach and...who are the right people to grow this market?"

Staubach's game book calls for building a top team across the board and specifically its youngest member, advisory services, which is a high-level corporate consulting division that entails everything from special studies to energy. "Our end goal," Cotter emphasizes, "is to grow as a national and international real estate company.