Meet Chicago's Real Estate Power Siblings
National Siblings Day is this Sunday, April 10. We wanted to showcase some of the brothers and sisters working in commercial real estate, and you delivered. Following are eight groups of siblings who are bonding over more than family ties.
Sean and Kieran Conlon
CONLON/Christie co-founders Kieran Conlon (principal) and Sean Conlon (chairman) hail from Ireland but now call Chicago home. Sean drives the vision at CONLON/Christie's and Conlon & Co, while Kieran is one of the city’s top residential brokers. His recent high-profile deals include the sale of a $2.3M Gold Coast condo owned by Britain’s Queen Elizabeth. They credit each other for helping achieve success in a foreign land. “We’ve been there for each other every step of the way,” Kieran says.
Jon and Ben Azulay
Savills Studley managing director Jon Azulay (left) says he and his brother, Bradford Allen principal Ben Azulay, are the best-looking siblings on this list. Like many siblings, they’re competitive, but that hasn’t bled over into real estate often, as Ben focuses on downtown tenant leasing while Jon’s clients are mostly in the suburbs. Ben moved over to real estate after a successful marketing career and, when Jon was looking for career options out of college, Ben suggested he try real estate. The Azulays come from a large family so there are plenty of things to talk about, besides shop.
Rob and Larry Bond
The Bond Cos co-founder Rob Bond (center left) works in Chicago while his brother Larry (center right) handles the firm’s affairs in LA, focusing on underserved communities in each city. Rob says he caught the real estate bug in college, thanks to a professor who instilled in him the idea of becoming a developer as the highest form of real estate professional. Larry adds he loves the creation process, the opportunity to analyze a community’s needs and wants, and see it through to completion. Although they’re in separate cities, Rob and Larry have their shared love of the Green Bay Packers to keep them warm.
David and Deborah Frank
SomerCor 504 president David Frank and his sister, Golub VP Deborah Frank, both have law backgrounds, but found their calling in real estate. Debbie handles the day-to-day leasing for Golub’s downtown real estate portfolio. David assists businesses in securing financing for their real estate projects. Real estate is on their minds away from the office; they often discuss ways to work smarter.
Jon and Michael Connor
Colliers’ Jon Connor (center, left) and his brother, JLL’s Michael Connor (center, right), come from a long line of real estate professionals. Their father, uncles, grandfather and great-grandfather all worked in the industry. Jon found real estate after a summer internship at the University of Illinois. Michael became interested in the business listening to the family talk about it at the dinner table. Away from the office, the Connors love to golf. Jon coaches seventh and eighth grade football in Lake Forest and loves fine dining. Michael hunts, cooks, roots for Chicago’s sports teams and is active in JLL’s Young Guns program.
The Hornik Sisters
The Hornik sisters—Linda Kraus (top row, left), Mary Hornik (first row, far left) and Christine Larkin (top row, middle)—all found a second home at Avison Young. Linda switched from residential to commercial real estate three years ago and is a tenant rep at AY’s Chicago office, collaborating with principal Konstantine Sepsis. Mary works in AY’s corporate food services group and works directly with managing director Danny Nikitas. Mary is in the process of acquiring her Illinois real estate broker’s license. Christine recently joined Avison Young as an administrative and operations coordinator after a 20-year career in banking and insurance. The sisters enjoy playing volleyball and softball together and affectionately refer to themselves as “the Trifecta.” The women are pictured here with their mother, Sophie (first row middle), their sister, Cathy (first row, right), and their sister, Jane (top row, right).
Laura Ballou and Aimee Langer
KIG’s Laura Ballou (right) and sister Aimee Langer have real estate in their blood. Father Randy Langer runs HA Langer & Associates, which manages a few buildings in the Gold Coast and one in Park Ridge, and Aimee is a leasing agent in one of the downtown assets. Laura says their love of real estate started at an early age when she toured the Uptown Theater with her father. At the time, the Uptown’s lobby was being used for filming Home Alone 2. Laura adds most of her extended family is involved in real estate, so it’s usually the topic of discussion at dinner and family outings.
Jarrett and Cooper Annenberg
Jarrett and Cooper Annenberg were destined for careers in real estate. Cooper says their father has been in the business for over 25 years and was throwing them offering memorandums since they were able to read. Older brother Jarrett is an office tenant rep at CBRE, while Cooper handles retail at RKF. They’re both die-hard Cubs fans and can be found getting in a round of golf during the summer.
