Tomorrow's Leaders: RETAIL

This is an HTML version of an article that ran in the May 2014 issue of Real Estate Forum. To see the story in its original format, click here.

The ever-changing retail sector will belong to the CRE professionals who can see where the market is headed while demonstrating the time-honored virtues of hard work, creativity and the ability to tailor solutions to the specific needs of clients. Real Estate Forum has identified 27 retail experts age 35 and under from across the US—men and women whom we believe will help write the sector's future history.

Jake Brewer, 30
Associate Director
Cushman & Wakefield | Cornerstone Brokerage
Brewer came to brokerage from CRE lending, where he worked with life insurance companies and CMBS lenders placing large non-recourse permanent financing on commercial properties. It was a career stint that began in 2007 at the height of the last cycle and continued through the downturn, giving him the ability to view transactions from every angle and an understanding of how each stakeholder views the deal. In his current role with C&W | Cornerstone, Brewer is contracted as the national broker for DriveTime Auto Sales, among the largest used auto dealerships in the country under one brand name. He met his future client on a cold call five years ago and has since done more than 20 transactions with DriveTime across the US.

Parker Carroll, 29
Managing Director
Coldwell Banker Commercial Net Leased Investment Group
Along with serving as the managing director for Coldwell Banker Commercial's Austin, TX office, Carroll created the firm's net leased investment group and launched the first office in Austin before age 27. In addition to maintaining one of the highest levels of production among all sales professionals in the industry, he is responsible for day-to-day operations, strategic planning, business development, recruiting and employee development for his team. Among his other achievements, he has been ranked in the top 2% of all CBC affiliates each year since 2010, and in the top 20 of CBC affiliates in North America for 2013 and 2012. He notes that net lease is “quickly becoming a mainstream investment instrument, and will continue to grow in the future.“

Joseph Dougherty, 31
Vice President
Metro Commercial Real Estate Brokerage
A VP at Metro Commercial, Dougherty is instrumental in its leasing and sales brokerages department. He represents numerous national/regional retailers throughout the Mid-Atlantic as well as some of the country's largest and most successful retail landlords in Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Delaware. As of Dec. 31, Dougherty had completed more than 380 lease/sale transactions with a gross aggregate value over $631 million and 4.825 million square feet in the Mid-Atlantic region, mainly in the Philadelphia metro area. For 2013, he was named the company's top producer. In addition, he serves as a mentor to new agents coming aboard at Metro.

Zach Fox, 29
Acquisitions Manager
Urstadt Biddle Properties
Before joining the Greenwich, CT-based shopping center REIT, Fox spent four years on the retail leasing side with Winick Realty and RKF & Associates, representing major New York City landlords in more than 40 transactions. At UBP, he's responsible for sourcing, underwriting and financing new shopping center acquisitions for the company. He is also tasked with selling non-core assets. In all of these capacities, he's shown an insatiable appetite to learn and is considered gifted beyond his years in seeing the angles and forming creative solutions in the heat of negotiations. He has also shown a keen ability to coordinate the due diligence process and navigate all the players involved.

Grant Gary, 26
Vice President
Woodmont Co.
Just four years into his CRE career, Gary is responsible for marketing and leasing a portfolio of shopping centers, enclosed regional malls and outlet centers in Texas, Oklahoma, Georgia and Missouri totaling more than 2.5 million square feet of GLA. He calls on an ability to focus efforts specifically on each client in helping make transactions happen for the betterment of clients and landlords. He's known for a sharp focus on overcoming roadblocks and making sure clients are fully cared for. The results can be summed up by his accolades: a CoStar Power Broker in the category of Dallas/Fort Worth retail leasing for 2010 and 2011; in-house recognition for most completed transactions in 2012 and 2013; and being named a D CEO Magazine Power Broker for 2012, 2013 and 2014.

Brendan Gotch, 30
Director of Retail Leasing
Massey Knakal Realty Services
Gotch has been a key team player for both the sales and retail leasing divisions at Massey Knakal. Starting as an intern while still in college, he became an integral team member for one of Massey Knakal's top sales brokers, James Nelson. He took a leap of faith to join Massey Knakal's retail leasing team and is now on the path to become one of the top retail brokers in New York City. Gotch was responsible for bringing in Massey Knakal Retail Leasing Services' largest listing to date—26,000 square feet near the Fulton Transit Center in the Financial District. He also coaches Massey Knakal's younger brokers. Routinely published in a number of news outlets, Gotch also speaks regularly on the state of the market at a variety of events.

Tim Gunnink, 35
CEO
GDC/RE Inc.
Launching a commercial real estate business in Phoenix in 2009, amid one of the worst economic downturns in the last hundred years both locally and nationally, took some doing. Gunnick doubled the company's revenue each year from its inception through 2012, and grew the physical office to double in size and personnel. “The transactional volume of our leasing and sales division has consistently been one of (if not) the highest of any similar organization in Arizona on a per-person basis,” he says. “We were able to lease eight shopping centers to 100% occupancy, including the only ground-up retail shopping center development in the Phoenix metro area in 2010,” namely Watson Marketplace in Buckeye, AZ.

Michael Hazinski, 33
VP and Director of Investments, South and West Regions
Retail Properties of America Inc.
RPAI is a publicly traded REIT focused on acquiring, developing and managing a diversified mix of retail assets, including power centers, community centers and lifestyle centers. Hazinski joined RPAI in 2007 as institutional portfolio manager responsible for the day-to-day asset and portfolio management of the REIT's joint venture portfolio, and was a key participant in the initial formation, management and recent successful completion of its largest joint venture, with Canada-based RioCan. Hazinski was promoted to his current role of VP and director of investments in 2013; in the fourth quarter he executed RPAI's first acquisitions as a publicly traded company with deals for Fordham Place in the Bronx and Pelham Manor Shopping Plaza in Pelham Manor, NY for a combined $192.4 million.

Elizabeth Hoffman Lucas
Principal
Atwater Group
As principal of Atwater Group, Hoffman manages a team of brokers and support staff who actively works on a pipeline of 100-plus deals at any time. She is the go-to point person on all projects and oversees every aspect of the development. Hoffman herself has been actively involved in more than 200 deals as a broker and developer for Family Dollar's rapid expansion plans. “The retail property market is always changing,” she says. “It correlates directly with the economic and status of businesses. I think the market will stabilize and hopefully we will learn from our mistakes from the last bubble.”

Chris Hollenbeck, 30
Vice President
Cassidy Turley Retail
Hollenbeck has become one of the most active and highest-producing retail brokers in the Phoenix office of Cassidy Turley. He specializes in project leasing and sales of multi-tenant retail properties in Metro Phoenix and the Southwest. In addition, Hollenbeck has a growing market share of single tenant triple-net-leased retail properties on both a local and national basis. Over the past four years, Hollenbeck has completed over 300 transactions totaling 4.7 million square feet, including 255 leases and 45 sales. Last year, he was named the top retail producer and a top 10 producer overall for Cassidy Turley's Arizona office.

Alvin Mansour, 31
Senior Vice President, Investments
Marcus & Millichap National Retail Group
Based in San Diego, Mansour leads a team specializing in single-tenant, multi-tenant and net-lease investment sales, sale-leasebacks and portfolio dispositions nationwide. The 10-year industry veteran's passion for the industry is demonstrated by his familiarity with national markets and his understanding and anticipating the challenges that come with deals. Since 2012, he has closed more than 160 transactions valued in excess of $750 million. “In the short term, we will continue to see significant demand for all net leased product types as there is a shortage of available inventory in the marketplace,” he tells Forum . “We are expecting new supply to enter the market in early 2015 as national construction activity picks up significantly.”

Lance Marine, 35
Senior Vice President
CBRE Inc.
Marine leads one of CBRE's top performing brokerage teams, the Washington, DC Retail Services Team, along with partner Michael Zacharia. In that capacity, he represents tenants in active multi-market rollouts, targeted expansions and new market penetrations. Highly regarded by both clients and peers for his sophisticated negotiation and strategic advisory that approaches every client engagement as a partnership, Marine has completed over 500 lease and sales transactions to date for approximately $775 million in transaction volume. “The adage in real estate that 'no two transactions are alike' best describes the future of real estate,” he says. “The resulting efficiencies of globalization will both complicate and simplify the industry.”

Kyle Matthews, 31
Executive Vice President
Colliers International Retail Investment
Matthews joined Colliers in 2013, and since then he and the team have closed more than 60 transactions with a total consideration of $161.2 million. Over the course of his career, he has sold more than $300 million of investment real estate in 22 states. Today he has 50 active listings. Matthews specializes in advisory, consulting and transactional services with institutions, developers, syndications and private investors of shopping centers and net leased properties. He's responsible for driving business by meeting the nationwide real estate needs of large retail clients, and believes that it takes an amazing work ethic, a high level of persistence and an ability to manage the clients and their expectations.

Rommie Mojahed, 35
Director of Leasing
Sperry Van Ness LLC
Working in both landlord and tenant representation, Mojahed stands out in his knowledge of trade area developments, trends and upcoming changes. He not only knows the property and area in general but also specifics that would influence the long-term viability of a property. Mojahed has a strong relationship with economic development leaders in many municipalities and takes the time to investigate and stay ahead of changes that can impact the economic environment. He represents several national brands as they expand in the Metro Phoenix market, and has taken a property purchased out of foreclosure from over 50% vacant to 100% leased. At present, he's working on the redevelopment of a stalled project, which SVN plans to unveil at this month's ICSC RECon convention in Las Vegas.

Robert O'Farrell, 34
Senior Vice President
JLL Retail
Co-leader of the Austin, San Antonio and Houston offices for JLL Retail, O'Farrell is also the master broker for accounts such as USAA nationally and Firestone statewide across Texas. Among his other clients are In & Out Burger; Verizon; FedEx, Goodwill Industries, Academy Sports and Outdoors; and Fresh Market. He has twice been ranked number one retail broker by the Austin Business Journal , and is consistently ranked in the publication's top 10 citywide. O'Farrell was always a top producer annually at SRS Real Estate Services (formerly the Staubach Co.), where he became co-market leader for Austin, San Antonio and Houston at age 29. “We're seeing a reduction in store size from many retailers and a reduction in store footprint,” he says. “I believe the trend of fewer and smaller stores will continue.”

CJ Osbrink, 30
Director
HFF Investment Sales Brokerage
Over the past eight years, Osbrink has closed over $1 billion of investment sales, including $500 million of retail. Among them was the $120-million sale of the Shops at Rossmoor in Seal Beach, CA, 2011's largest retail center sale in Orange County. Osbrink calls e-commerce “the elephant in the room” for the retail community, but says it doesn't have to be seen in those terms. “We're beginning to see more tenants embrace e-commerce and integrate the Internet and multiple marketing channels into their brick and mortar stores,” he says.

Joanna Rotonde, 28
Senior Manager, Transactions
Regency Centers
Rotonde leads acquisitions and disposition efforts in the Northeast region for Regency Centers. She's responsible for identifying, evaluating and structuring profitable property acquisition and disposition opportunities within Connecticut, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York and Pennsylvania. Including her five-year stint with Urstadt Biddle Properties, which she left in 2013 as an assistant VP, Rotonde has helped identify, underwrite and close $300-plus million in acquisitions totaling more than a million square feet. Most notably, she closed a $150-million JV with Kleban Properties on a 315,000-square-foot portfolio of Fairfield, CT retail properties this past February.

Larry Sajdak, 34
President
Inland National Real Estate Services LLC Property Management
Sajdak is a man of many responsibilities and has three separate business cards to prove it. Along with heading up Inland National Real Estate Services LLC, he's also vice president for Inland Diversified Real Estate Services LLC and Inland Continental Property Management LLC, overseeing the management, leasing, business management and operations for more than 24 million square feet of retail, office and industrial assets across the continental US. In all three roles, Sajdak brings a strong sense of communication and direction to his teams. And he's been a team-builder in more ways than one, growing the combined staff from three to 55 in just under four years.

Blake Shipp, 30
Vice President and Director of Project Leasing
Weitzman Group Commercial Retail Division
Since joining the Weitzman Group in 2007, Blake Shipp has grown as both a real estate brokerage professional and as a leader. He directs the project leasing team in Dallas/Fort Worth, specializing in project leasing and retail tenant representation throughout the metro area, as well as site selection and ground-up development for local and regional clients. Shipp is responsible for leasing more than 2.5 million square feet of commercial retail space across DFW, including the company's largest listing, the 765,000-square-foot regional Golden Triangle Mall in Denton, TX. The Weitzman Group recognized him as a top 10 producer for its DFW office.

Jeffrey Shuster, 30
Vice President
Starwood Capital Group
Shuster has been instrumental in creating the Starwood Retail Properties platform, which has purchased 17 malls in three transactions over the past two years, for a total purchase price of more than $3 billion. Starwood Retail Properties now has 180 employees. He continues to pursue new acquisitions to expand the platform. He has also been an integral part of the team that acquired over $500 million worth of commercial non-performing loans. Shuster, who has earned in-house “Team Player” awards at Starwood Capital, was an important part of the team that launched Starwood Property Trust and was involved in the acquisition of $512 million worth of performing loans in 2010.

Wright Sigmund, 33
Director, Retail Leasing
Vornado/Charles E. Smith
Sigmund has completed more than 150 transactions since joining Vornado/Charles E. Smith in 2011, with volume in excess of $200 million. Major assignments include the repositioning of the luxury Fairfax Square development in Tysons Corner, VA, the programming and conceptualization of Crystal City retail in Arlington, VA; and conceptualization and leasing of new restaurant-focused retail development at Skyline in Falls Church, VA. He's been responsible for some of the most prolific deals in the market, including the new Whole Foods Market in Pentagon City, Techshop in Crystal City and the new AMC theatre in Courthouse Plaza, all in Arlington.

Joshua Simon, 28
President
SimonCRE
Simon is one of the nation's youngest principals of a nationally focused commercial real estate development company. His firm was established in 2010 and has quickly grown a reputation for service and bold business decisions. Simon is unafraid to dig into projects that “have hair on them,” because there can be a significant amount of value to add. As a case in point, late last summer he closed on the $7.6-million purchase of Market Place, a Target-anchored shopping center in the Detroit suburb of Sterling Heights, MI, considered a risky move because of the region's economic climate. The acquisition has proven to be a success, joining a portfolio that spans more than 30 states from Oregon to Virginia.

Geoff Tranchina, 34
Senior Vice President
Wilson Commercial Real Estate
A senior vice president for Los Angeles-based Wilson Commercial Real Estate's Investment Sales Group, Tranchina is responsible for the ISG team's strategic planning, to include securing listings, third-party developer support and sourcing off-market transactions for key clients. Known as a “big thinker” able to connect very large dots in the investment sales world, Tranchina has completed 50 transactions totaling approximately $600 million over the past two years. His most notable achievement was securing the sale of an off-market family portfolio of five shopping centers totaling more than 500,000 square feet to Retail Opportunity Investments Corp., one of the sector's leading REITs.

Joshua Volen, 31
Founder and Principal
CIRE Equity Acquisitions
Volen became the youngest broker to achieve the title of senior director at the national firm where he worked from 2004 to 2010. Based in the San Diego area, he launched CIRE Equity and CIRE Partners, both in 2010. CIRE Partners is his brokerage firm with more than a dozen full-time agents specializing in net lease properties nationwide. Volen wears many hats within the organization. As a broker, he has completed more than 160 transactions for total consideration of over $1.2 billion across more than 20 states. Since inception of CIRE Equity, he has led the firm in transactions of over one million square feet, more than $35 million in investor equity deployed and a project level average return of 2.82 equity multiple or 60.18% IRR.

Grant Walker, 31
Vice President
Transwestern Retail Services
As a vice president within Transwestern's retail service group in Houston, Walker represents more than 40 national and local tenants, including the Darden Restaurants brands, the Children's Place, Games Workshop and Marcos Pizza. He leads a group specializing in restaurant real estate in Houston and the south Texas market. He founded the Transwestern Retail Young Broker University and co-founded the firm's restaurant group. “The far future looks very bright for Houston and Texas,” Walker tells Forum . “The economy as a whole has recovered faster than any other state,” and with that economic health come thriving restaurants along with retail and more new development. “Living in Houston right now and watching the transformation of the city into the next major 'global city' is very exciting, and we are fortunate to be a part of it.”

Ryan Wilner, 32
Principal
KLNB Retail
As a principal with KLNB Retail, Wilner's responsibilities range from generating new business to mentoring younger brokers. On a daily basis, he does site identification and leasing negotiations for over 15 regional and national retail tenants expanding throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He's also responsible for one-million-plus square feet of landlord representation. “Retailers are continuing to search for an equilibrium between operating, renovating, and expanding their brick-and-mortar footprints with a growing online consumer base,” says Wilner. In the Mid-Atlantic, he adds, the most active retailers have been grocery stores, fitness centers, variety and apparel discounters and fast casual restaurants, including both existing brands such as Chipotle and Noodles & Co. along with a host of new entrants. “I see this trend continuing for the foreseeable future.”

Tracy Worrell, 32
Senior Leasing Associate
Crossman & Co.
Just four years after being recruited by Crossman & Co., Worrell oversees all leasing efforts on the firm's behalf for a two-million-square-foot retail portfolio in the Tampa Bay area and on Florida's west coast. She has won a CoStar Orlando Power Broker Award every year since joining Crossman, and has served as the education chair of the Central Florida Developing Leaders program. “It takes more than just the best location to become a retailer that every landlord wants,” she observes. “With online shopping at our fingertips, retailers have to be more innovative and able to provide a better shopping experience for their consumer.”