Stiles Realty Names CBRE Veteran as President to Lead Expansion

FORT LAUDERDALE, FL—Stiles Realty on Monday announced Paul Marko as president. The industry veteran steps in for Tom Kates, who is retiring after 27 years directing the division’s market expansion in Florida.  

"Paul’s tremendous expertise combined with the unique structure of Stiles will enable Stiles Realty to achieve the growth we expect in the short-and long-term,” Terry Stiles, CEO of Stiles, said in a statement.  “Paul has a deep knowledge of the local market, proven ability to build long-term relationships with clients and track record of success in the leasing and brokerage arena.”

As Stiles see it, the team will be better positioned to take advantage of new market opportunities with Marko on board. Before joining Stiles, Marko served for 12 years as first vice president of CBRE. He also served for six years with Codina Group in a similar capacity.

“Our strategy is to grow the brokerage business with a focus on the third-party arena,” Marko tells GlobeSt.com. “This has been a strategic focus for the business for many years, but now we feel we have the right tools in place to execute expand this part of the business and achieve the growth we expect.”

In terms of territory, Marko says Stiles Realty aims to focus in Miami-Dade County, where the firms see significant opportunity and critical mass, as well as in West Palm Beach. On a regional basis, he says Stiles Realty will also target Tampa and Orlando where it already have a footprint.

“There will be opportunities to grow by acquisition, through Stiles’ Real Estate Investment Group as Stiles’ finalizes its own investment fund to accomplish that goal,” Marko says. “There are also numerous development opportunities on vacant land and redevelopment of existing product that the company is working on, and those will involve Stiles Realty marketing those properties.”

In addition to increasing third-party leasing business, Marko will be responsible for enhancing operations, broker retention, recruiting, and professional development. Marko will also focus on driving growth by leveraging client relationships across the firm's various service divisions, including Property Management, Construction, Architecture, Tenant Improvement and Development.   

“The challenges in South Florida are that we are shifting from being an area 15 years ago that had a lot of available land to now being an area that is built-out and focused on redevelopment of existing product in office, industrial and retail,” Marko says. He says Stiles plans to overcome those challenges by working closely with its sister divisions in development, architecture and construction to source these opportunities.

“Paul has had a long career of over 12 years at CBRE and leaves a good friend of the firm," Ken Krasnow, managing director of CBRE’s South Florida offices, tells GlobeSt.com. "We wish him well. He is eager for new challenge in his career and Stiles is a very well respected developer in our marketplace.”