The past several years saw many commercial real estate servicefirms retrenching. Yet while its counterparts were cutting costsand announcing mass layoffs, Transwestern found itself doing justthe opposite. The Houston-based commercial real estate services,investment and development firm took advantage of the dislocationin the market to embark on an aggressive growth plan that,according to company officials, has positioned it well for theupturn.

While the private company doesn’t report earnings, president andCEO Larry Heard reveals last year was a record-breaking one forTranswestern in terms of profits, and “I believe in 2012 we willreport our highest gross revenue earnings in the company’s history.That is with significant investment tied to it, but it’s indicativeof the kind of growth we’ve signed up for and the quality thatwe’ve continued to insist upon from a service delivery standpointfor our clients.”

Today, Transwestern boasts over 1,800 team members in offices in33 cities nationally. Through the second quarter, the firm has 271million square feet under lease and management; 1,312 projectscompleted or under way; and a track record of 19.9 million squarefeet of leasing transactions closed, with $2 billion in investmentsales and financing transactions. It counts some of the biggestnames in the institutional investment world among its client base,and Transwestern professionals are on a first-name basis withdecision-makers at many of the largest and most sophisticatedcommercial real estate owners in the world.