A newer edition to the executive team atAuction.com is Monte Koch, now aco-chief executive officer, who was formerly an investor in thefirm while he was still Deutsche Bank's global head of real estateinvestment banking. He officially came on board over the summer andis charged with creating a corporate culture as the firm, which wasfounded in 2007, continues to grow. He recently spoke withGlobeSt.com about trends in commercial real estate auctions and theexperience he brings to the company.

GlobeSt.com: How were you involved with Auction.comat Deutsche and what attracted you to this area of realestate?

Monte Koch: I’ve spent 26 years in theinvestment-banking business focusing on real estate, gaming andlodging. I ran Deutsche Bank’s M&A practice in theAmericas as well as their global real estate banking business. Imet Rob and Jeff many years ago when they hired Deustche Bank as anadvisor to some of their previous companies, and I became aninvestor in Auction.com when it launched in 2007.