Rocky at the Top

Last week's news that Merrill Lynch took an $8.4-billion writedown connected to its revaluation of mortgage-related assets–thelargest loss in Wall Street memory–was followed within five days bythe firing of its CEO, Stan O'Neal. Clearly, a well-deserved bootfor a guy who not only shoulders the blame for the latest financialfiasco, but was also credited in a Wall Street Journalarticle on Monday with an aloof and arrogant management style. Aby-product of the Enron era is the increasingly aggressive natureof corporate boards to move quickly to sack the CEO for poorperformance. There is a strong trend toward compensation plans thatpay for performance–providing financial rewards based on what oneproduces. The Merrill story reveals that the reverse can also betrue: “You'll pay for your performance.”

Tony LoPinto is CEO of Equinox Partners, an executivesearch firm specializing in the real estate industry, and parentcompany of SelectLeaders. The views expressed in this article arethe author's own.
JobOpportunities
AMB PROPERTYCORP.
Regional Asset Manager
(MENLO PARK, CA) Candidate will be able to apply an energetic,intelligent, entrepreneurial and proactive approach to maximize thevalue of each investment in real estate within the portfolio.

THE URBAN LAND INSTITUTE
Director, Program Content
(WASHINGTON, DC) The Convenings director will be responsible forthe coordination of the program content for the Spring CouncilForum and Fall Meeting – including Product Councils.

MOODY'S INVESTORS SERVICE
VP, Policy
(NEW YORK CITY) Reporting to the chief compliance officer, thisposition is responsible for reviewing and implementing policiesrelevant to the company's regulatory requirements

CB RICHARD ELLIS
Project Management Director
(SAN JOSE, CA) We are seeking a dynamic individual to join us as adirector working with our Fortune 500 client CISCO in San Jose.This position is truly a “player/coach” who is able to manage amultimillion dollar construction project; grow the business andmanage team personnel.

SELECTLEADERS
Leasing Agent – LuxuryApartments/Townhouses
(PITTSBURGH) Our client is a full-service real estate organizationthat invests in, develops and manages real estate. They are seekinga leasing agent for an upscale luxury apartment complex inPittsburgh.

ACKMAN-ZIFF REAL ESTATE GROUP LLC
Managing Director
(NEW YORK CITY) The critical element is a track record ofparticipating in the sale of debt instruments as well as B piecesand preferred equity positions. While expertise in any one propertytype is not required, a working knowledge of office, retail,multifamily, and hotel will be helpful.

HOLLIDAY FENOGLIO FOWLER LP
Senior Real Estate Analyst
(ATLANTA) The position will support both debt placement andinvestment sales professionals and will assist in the preparationof commercial loan/sales packages and submissions for presentationto lenders and buyers, assist the lenders and buyers with questionson the process while resolving underwriting issues, and more.

RCLCO
Marketing Proposal Coordinator
(BETHESDA, MD) The hire must be flexible, organized, self-directed,professional, team-oriented and computer proficient, with superiorcommunication skills. This position reports to the Vice VP ofbusiness development.

Promotions
GE REALESTATE
(NORWALK, CT) Daniel Brook, marking his 17th year with GE RealEstate, is made joint venture preferred equity leader in the NorthAmerica Equity division. He most recently was the group'smultifamily growth leader.

THORNTON TOMASETTI
(CHICAGO) Lance Parker, a 20-year veteran of commercialarchitecture, rises to vice president from senior associate aftersix years with the firm.

TRANSWESTERN
(SAN ANTONIO) Kevin Roberts is named president of the Central Texasregion. An 18-year veteran of the company's ranks, he most recentlywas the region's executive vice president.

BARTRAM & COCHRAN
(HARTFORD, CT) Peter Holland is named a partner in the firm.

HEI HOTELS & RESORTS
(SAN FRANCISCO) Robert LaCasse becomes general manager of the360-room Le Meredien San Francisco after heading up the SheratonAustin in Texas.

HALSTEAD PROPERTY
(NEW YORK CITY) The firm promotes 16 senior vice presidents toexecutive vice president. Earning the honor are Eloise Johnson,Marguerite Platt, Dean Feldman, Louise Phillips Forbes, BarbaraGood, Peter Martin, Kathleen Moosher, Susan Ruttner, Jane Tijan,Norman Horowitz, Barry Silverman, Michael Spodek, Janet Weiner,Barbara Godson, Barbara Licalzi and Richard Orenstein.

HENDRICKS & PARTNERS
(AUSTIN) Ellen Muskin, a 25-year veteran, becomes partner aftereight years with the firm as an associate partner.

MACFARLANE PARTNERS
(SAN FRANCISCO) Jennifer Glover rises to principal from managingdirector and Diana Hagan becomes vice president of portfoliomanager after working as vice president of investments. Glover, a16-year veteran, joined the company in 2004 while Hagan, markingher 20th year in the industry, began in 2005.

CUSHMAN & WAKEFIELD INC.
(FORT LAUDERDALE) Richard Etner and Christopher Metzger move up toexecutive director from senior director. The executives lead afive-member industrial team in South Florida. Etner joined thecompany in 1988 as member of Metzger's team. Metzger started withC&W in 1983.

NewHires
CBRICHARD ELLIS
(TUCSON) Tim Minnehan, a 12-year industry veteran, joins theindustrial sales team. He most recently worked for Keller WilliamsRealty.

THE MORGAN GROUP INC.
(ORLANDO) Corbin Johnson comes on board as regional vice presidentto manage construction for projects in Florida and the Southeast.He previously was vice president of production for PritzkerResidential.

BALLARD SPAHR ANDREWS & INGERSOLL LLP
(LOS ANGELES) Joining as associates are Gene A. Coppa and ChristineKim. Susanne M. MacIntosh begins as a staff attorney. The triojoins the real estate and resort and hotel practice, taking thelocal office to seven.

TELES PROPERTIES
(BEVERLY HILLS, CA) Ernie Carswell is named a founding member,joining CEO Lou Piatt, Peter Hernandez and Steve Shull who launchedthe firm in mid-October.

GRUBB & ELLIS CO.
(BELLEVUE, WA) Greg Laycock, with 23 years' experience, returns tothe firm as a senior vice president for institutional-gradeinvestments of office, multifamily retail and land. He spent thepast 18 months as acquisitions and development director forFairfield Residential. He previously worked for eight years atGrubb & Ellis, beginning in 1991.

MACFARLANE PARTNERS
(SAN FRANCISCO) Chris Neighbor begins as vice president ofinvestment management. The nine-year veteran most recently workedfor KB Home.

FORMAN CAPITAL LLC
(BOSTON) John Churchward is made managing director of businessdevelopment. He previously was a director at Tremont RealtyCapital.

HAMPSHIRE COS.
(MORRISTOWN, NJ) John Dalton starts as financial analyst to performmodeling for the Hampshire Partners Institutional Funds. He mostrecently worked in investor relations and treasury departments forFreddie Mac.

JRS ARCHITECT
(MINEOLA, NY) Michael Sciara, an award-winning architect andadjunct professor, joins as a project manager in the headquartersoffice while Joseph Sassone, an 18-year veteran, becomes projectmanager to lead the Long Island office. Most recently, Sassone wasteam leader and project manager at Catapano Engineering.

CB RICHARD ELLIS
(ORLANDO and CLEVELAND) Luke Wickham starts as operations directorfor the Central Florida multi-housing team. The veteran previouslyoperated his own real estate holding company, focusing on smallmultifamily properties. In Cleveland, Katie Watts joins the tenantrepresentation services group. She previously was regionalmarketing director for Staubach Co.'s Great Lakes region.

DEUTSCHE BANK
(BOSTON) Daniel Feehan becomes part of the trust and securitiesservices business in the global transaction banking division. Theveteran is tasked with expanding like-kind exchange services. Hepreviously was a senior vice president at Chicago Deferred ExchangeCorp.

OPUS EAST LLC
(PHILADELPHIA) Richard Zehl, with 17 years' experience, is namedsenior real estate manager for a nine-county region inPennsylvania. He had been director of development and constructionfor First Industrial Realty Trust in Miami.

EASTERN CONSOLIDATED
(NEW YORK CITY) David E. Ash and Timothy Brian Unich join asdirectors and Craig Coupe comes aboard as financial analyst. Ashpreviously was a leasing specialist at the Kaufman Organization.Unich recently was an investment associate for Marcus &Millichap Real Estate Investment Services. Coupe comes from JonesLang LaSalle, where he worked in research for all types oftransactions.

ZIMMER REAL ESTATE SERVICES
(ST. LOUIS) Richard C. Ward starts as managing principal of the newoffice. He also becomes vice president and a member of thedevelopment management group in the move from DevelopmentStrategies Inc., which he founded in 1988.

COLLIERS BENNETT & KAHNWEILER
(ROSEMONT, IL) The firm's new associates are Jason M. Simon, EvanH. Zeder, John E. Baylor, Geoffrey R. Groh and James M.Harrington.

TRUMP FINANCIAL/FIRST MEREDIAN MORTGAGE
(NEW YORK CITY) Richard Holmes will spearhead the expansion of themortgage bank and lending company to 14 urban markets. Hisbackground includes banking and fixed-income positions with UBS,Fremont Investment & Loan and MLN USA.

NAI GLOBAL
(NEW YORK CITY) Marie Goyden and Nina Marroccoli start asassociates in office leasing and media/entertainment, respectively.Goyden was an NAI Global intern in Princeton, NJ and Marroccoliinterned at GVA Williams.

RICKER-MURPHY DEVELOPMENT LLC
(CHICAGO) Timothy P. Shields is named senior vice president, comingon board from MC Real Estate to lead development of Lincoln Park2520.

TIME EQUITIES INC.
(NEW YORK CITY) Alice Cook, an environmental engineer, joins asdirector of sustainability.

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Anthony J. LoPinto

Tony LoPinto is the Global Sector Leader of Korn Ferry’s Real Estate Practice and founder of SelectLeaders. For the past 18 years LoPinto has been serving his clients with deep knowledge and perspective on talent needs and organizational challenges to public and private companies – knowledge gained from a 25-year career in real estate. Prior to his current position, he founded and served as chief executive officer of a boutique real estate executive search firm, where he oversaw offices in New York, Chicago, Washington, DC, San Francisco and Los Angeles. He has successfully led several high profile search engagements for chief executive officers, directors and a wide-range of executive level positions across all industries and sectors. He earned a Bachelor of Arts degree in European history from Loyola University in Chicago.