GlobeSt.com UPDATE: GVA Kidder Gears Up for Expansion

In addition to portfolio management, Coombs also has a background in brokerage, having managed the Bellevue office of Colliers International for eight years. At GVA Kidder Mathews, Coombs will be focused on recruiting top brokers and working with the firm's five branch managers and specialty group leaders (property management and appraisal) to strategically position the brokerage group to increase market share.

"In our industry, it's a huge issue for brokers to respect the person in this role, otherwise they will be ineffective," Lyon says. "We feel we've found the best person to be successful in leading this division of our business."

GVA Kidder Mathews has five offices and 120 brokers. In January, Lyon told GlobeSt.com that the company's expansion into Portland has convinced him that the Kidder platform can be successful outside the Puget Sound marketplace. At the time, he didn't pinpoint any locations, and on Friday he didn't reveal much more. The expansion will occur in the West, in markets where GVA does not already have a partner, he tells GlobeSt.com.

One logical move would be into Bay Area, where GVA's only affiliate is Whitney Cressman, which has one office in Downtown San Francisco. That leaves open the East Bay, Silicon Valley and Sacramento markets. If the expansion does occur in the Bay Area, it likely would be in partnership with Whitney Cressman. Lyon isn't saying. When asked when the expansion might begin, Lyon says "there is a probability that something could happen this year."

Meanwhile, the company recently expanded its relatively new Portland office for the third time, making room for seven additional brokers that haven't yet been hired. Lyon says the company's platform has done well because it's local, independent and doesn't have a lot of layers. After $100,000, the broker gets 90% of the commission.

The company was launched in 1969 by Jerry Mathews and partners Bill Kidder and Bob James. The company now has 65 or 70 shareholders and 250 employees. Mathews recently stepped down as chairman to become chairman emeritus, but will to serve on the firm's strategic planning and compensation committees.