UPDATE: Brokerage Growth Is Key for C&W's New Oregon Director

"I'll be here at least two days every two weeks," says Miller, who has been in town four of the past five days. "I need someone who can be the face for Cushman & Wakefield when I'm unable to do so."

Under Miller's purview, C&W says revenue from its Puget Sound brokerage services in 2005 was double that of 2004. C&W CEO of the Americas Tony Marano says Miller has done a "tremendous job" in the Puget Sound and expects him to do the same in Portland. More importantly, Miller is confident in making it happen.

"I have an affinity for this area and a competitive drive to succeed," says Miller, whose parents were raised in Astoria. "I'm not going to stop until this office is successful."

Cushman & Wakefield lured Miller in late 2004 from Seattle-based Unico Properties, where he was general manager of the Metropolitan Tract, a 10-acre chunk of real estate in the heart of Downtown Seattle that holds 1.8 million sf of office and retail space controlled by the University of Washington. Prior to Unico, he was controller for Alaska Northwest Properties Inc., a former real estate subsidiary of Alaska Air Group.

Miller admits his goal of adding 20 brokers over 24 months is lofty, especially since he's "picky" and believes quality trumps quantity. For those who may take exception to a man in his 30s in a post normally held by men in their 50s, Miller says he earns people's respect by treating them like the professionals they are and working his butt off. He expects his commitment and dedication to take his age off the table as an issue.

Age wasn't a deal killer for Kip Durrell and Jeff Jochums, a couple of top-producing brokers in Bellevue, WA, who last month left their respective houses and joined up as senior directors in C&W's Eastside beachhead. Durrell was a principal in the local office of Pacific Real Estate Partners and Jochums was a senior vice president in the local office of Colliers International. Durrell told GlobeSt.com at the time that he and Jochums had worked opposite each other on numerous transactions and had occasionally talked about working together, but that Miller was "instrumental" in bringing it to fruition.

There are also brokers who have left since Miller arrived, but Miller says none left in favor of another firm and only one--Garth Olsen, who quietly left the firm in 2005, the year after being promoted to co-manager of the Seattle office--is now with a competitor. Multifamily broker Greg Laycock left the firm in late 2005 to take a salaried position with Fairfield Residential and his associate broker partner Steffanie Birkeland recently left to obtain her MBA.

Miller gained purview over C&W in Oregon in early March, when Terry Shanley left his post as managing director of the Portland office.