Seasoned Execs Launch High-Level Advisory Firm

The faces behind S/RI Partners LLC are Steven J. Kaplan, former CEO and president of Landauer Associates Inc. and former COO for Grubb & Ellis Co.; James E. Melson, former CEO of RealPage Inc. and founder of Melson Technologies; and Lynn Newman, former senior vice president of RealPage and president of Newman Foley.

In less than a month, the trio has garnered six clients in the Dallas-Ft. Worth metroplex for the Dallas-based operation. The team will be mapping out intellectual property vehicles for commercial real estate operations. The team has severed its high-tech affiliations so there are no conflicts of interest with its advice, Kaplan and Newman confirmed to GlobeSt.com. There will be no product endorsements, just pure advice gleaned from their experience and knowledge of high-tech needs for commercial real estate.

"Executives do not have the luxury of making a bad decision when it comes to technology," Kaplan says. Nor, he adds, do they have the time to investigate the ins and outs; that's a task for staff. Industry staff cutbacks and tendencies to outsource in today's business climate translate to S/RI Partners believing it's in the right place at the right time with the right knowledge.

S/RI Partners will not get involved in implementation of its advice and there is no intent to replace research departments, Kaplan stresses. The need, he says, lies in helping decision makers decide what technology best suits their needs by completing their high-tech due diligence. "There is a tremendous amount of confusion about the role of technology in the real estate industry," he says.

Kaplan says the new venture will deal solely with intellectual property and its management for all facets that relate to commercial real estate. The new business partners, on the other hand, will deal solely with senior management. "It will be principals dealing with principals," Newman says. "We've been there and we know the decisions our clients have to make.