Close Up With Jon Silberman

Besides being one of NAI Houston’s two largest shareholders, managing partner Jon Silberman handles about 100 deals a year. (His filing cabinet alone must be magical.) Meet the man behind TGS-NOPEC’s recent activity and Geico’s Energy Corridor lease.

Jon tells us he and teammate Griff Bandy have already closed over $100M of leases this year, primarily in the office sector. His biggest recent deal was also one of his all-time favorites, repping TGS-NOPEC in its local expansion. That included buying out an existing lease and arranging a 105k SF BTS office and one of the largest data centers in Houston. He says he loves the client, and it was a complex deal that required all his skill sets. Besides his deal portfolio, Jon handles strategic planning for NAI Houston and affiliated companies and oversees its 130 employees.

Jon's skillset may include more than you think: He got a degree in electrical and computer engineering from UT before going to business school at U of H. He wasn't particularly interested in real estate when he got a part time job at NAI Houston's predecessor, but he fell for it and has stuck with the same company his entire career (through various acquisitions and renamings). Technology is still a passion, and he gets his fix through real estate-related ventures like Swift Lease (an affiliated company developed to help small office tenants find space). He also has been working on a real estate software venture for the past 18 months. Here's Jon with his daughter Reese.

Jon recently fulfilled a lifelong dream by learning to fly; he tells us he'd love to do an extended flying trip hopping across South America or Asia. He also plays drums in a band and owns some horses, and he played cricket until age 30. Yes, cricket: He was born in South Africa. (He moved to Houston when he was 12 and was pleased to see he could still play the sport here.)