Houston CRE Execs Who've Stuck With The Same Company for 25+ Years
There's been a lot of personnel shuffling the last few years, and résumés today typically have more companies than the days of yore. But some people still have major staying power. We found a slew of execs who've been at their respective firms for 25-plus years and have made their mark on Houston's real estate landscape.
Colliers
Longtime Colliers employees include co-chairman and principal Charlie Herder (38 years), co-chairman and principal Bob Parsley (33 years), COO Caroline Freeman (26 years), principal and director Mike Taetz (30 years) and principal Gary Mabray. (Here they are with their headshots from 1998.) Bob tells us one of his biggest transactions over the years was a 350k SF lease for Bank United in 3200 Southwest Freeway, and he’s enjoyed watching the firm grow from five people when he joined to over 100 in Colliers' Houston office.
Mike and Gary’s largest transaction was representing Ernie Cockrell (Pinto) in the purchase of 1,200 acres in JacintoPort. Each leader at Colliers listed the firm's family-like atmosphere and strong culture as one of their favorite parts of their job.
Cushman & Wakefield
Cushion & Wakefield has no shortage of high-level folks who have been with the firm over 25 years: executive vice chairman Tim Relyea, vice chairman Scott Wegmann, executive director Kevin Ray, vice chairman Joe Peddie (not pictured), senior director David Chuoke, director Chip Horne (not pictured), EVP Kelley Parker, EVP David Cook, vice chairman Lou Cushman, managing director Greg Jones and executive director Jim Foreman (group is pictured left to right). Heavy hitter Tim Relyea says one of his most memorable deals was Devon Energy's new HQ in OKC, which he believes might be the finest building in North America. His most demanding deal was probably Boeing's HQ move from Seattle to Chicago in 2001. Tim passed on his passion for real estate to his daughter Morgan, who's now a successful director of tenant representation at the firm.
Kirksey
Serving Houston since 1971, Kirksey has 10 employees who have been with the firm over 25 years: EVP Randall Walker (37 years), EVP Jim Dietzmann (31 years), EVP Randy Thomas (25 years), EVP Bob Inaba (34 years), EVP Kathy Howell (32 years), president John Kirksey (44 years), managing principal Wes Good (25 years), EVP Terry Greiner (31 years), EVP Brian Malarkey (25 years) and EVP Scott Wilkinson (38 years). The group is pictured from left to right above. Randy tells us the biggest project he’s worked on is Trammell Crow’s dynamic Energy Center Campus and one of his career highlights is winning the in-house miniature golf tournament in 1993. Terry notes his favorite part about Kirksey is the people.
JLL
EVP Steve Burkett (25-plus years) and international director Bruce Rutherford (32 years) have both been working at JLL for the better part of their careers. Bruce (pictured above with his family) has closed his fair share of big deals over the years, including the DreamWorks Animation Campus in Glendale, CA, a 1.5M SF build-to-suit still considered to be one of the greatest corporate campuses in the world. Bruce also helped open JLL’s first West Coast office, trained the first tenant rep practice in Asia Pacific and eventually became JLL’s Global Energy Practice Leader. Steve tells us his largest single transaction was representing Shell Oil in New Orleans for its 765k SF lease at One Shell Plaza. His career highlight was being inducted into JLL's inaugural Champion of Excellence class in 1999.
Hines
SVP George Lancaster has been with Hines for over 31 years and already calls himself a Hines lifer. George began his career as a marketing intern at the Dallas Galleria and has stuck with the firm ever since. While the first half of his career was spent managing and redeveloping retail spaces, George took over Global Corporate Communication for Hines in 2000 and has never looked back. George says it’s been exciting to be a part of the company’s expansion into foreign markets, and his favorite project is 53W53 (pictured above), the Jean Nouvel-designed condo tower being developed above the Museum of Modern Art. George’s most enjoyable career moment was planning and executing Gerald Hines’ 90th birthday celebration last summer, bringing together a who’s who of famous architects.
Seeberger Architecture
Perry Seeberger founded the firm in 1983 and has been going strong ever since. With more than 35 years of experience, Perry oversees all aspects of the business and specializes in projects ranging from financial institutions to industrial warehouses. Over the years, he’s also acquired knowledge in the areas of real estate development, commercial architecture, project coordination and land planning. Perry tells us great work is the product of many minds and he’s thankful to be surrounded by a team of enthusiastic, creative designers.
