JLL Adds Tech Division, Promotes Execs To Global Board In Organizational Shake-Up
Real Estate and investment management giant JLL has elevated two co-CEOs to the company's Global Executive Board in the creation of JLL Technologies, a new division of the company.
Mihir Shah and Yishai Lerner, co-CEOs of JLL Spark, which manages the company's $100M PropTech venture fund, will lead the new global division.
Effective Tuesday, the executives join seven other members of the company's global board, which comprises its top leadership.
Lerner and Shah have thus far led JLL Spark's investments in 14 different startups, including OpenSpace and CasaOne. Shah said JLL Technologies will employ products and services of those startups, along with internally produced products, to assist both investor and occupier clients throughout its global operations.
"More than 60% of our top investor clients are using at least one of our portfolio companies' technologies," he told Bisnow. "The division has about $100M in tech products and solutions revenue today, and the goal will be to expand that significantly, which is why [Lerner] and I will be joining the global executive board of JLL."
JLL founded Spark in 2017 and the following year launched the $100M JLL Spark Global Venture Fund.
Lerner and Shah are both longtime Silicon Valley entrepreneurs, having founded mobile app service — and Groupon-acquired — Mob.ly among other tech endeavors.
Shah lists several PropTech categories JLL Technologies will use for products and services for clients, including those for employee or occupier experience, like what is offered by portfolio company HqO for the multi-tenant building experience. Such tenant services range from booking conference rooms to coordinating food and beverage options. The occupier experience category as a whole is one "of significant growth for [JLL]," Shah said.
As for JLL Technologies' place in the overall company, Shah said he is optimistic about the new division, which is headlined both by Spark and $100M in revenue from JLL's existing tech offerings.
"JLL does $16.2B," Shah said. "So it's just the beginning."
CORRECTION, SEPT. 30. 11:36 A.M. PT: A previous version of this story misstated JLL Technologies' current annual revenue. JLL's existing tech products and services generate $100M in annual revenue. The story has been updated.
