Above: From left: Chris Beall, senior associate, JLL; Chelsea Porter, executive vice president of business development, Renaissance Companies; Ellen Boles, interior designer; Phil Haenel, executive director, Cushman & Wakefield; Alex Boles, director of investment and development, ViaWest Group; and Josh Tracy, vice president of real estate development, Ryan Companies. (Via AZ Big Media)
By Erin Thornburn | AZ Big Media
It’s a unique time for newer generations of commercial real estate (CRE) professionals in Arizona. Coming off the heels of a global pandemic, inflation upheaval, supply chain issues and labor shortages, rising leaders who are part of the NAIOP Developing Leaders program have been presented with unusual and unprecedented challenges. Alongside these obstacles, however, are also a wealth of opportunities. The widespread growth of Metro Phoenix has created ample and exciting career-building circumstances.
To get a glimpse of what it’s like for CRE up-and-comers as they navigate today’s equally erratic and opportunistic territory, AZRE sat down with seven young and hungry industry leaders, who are also members of the NAIOP Developing Leaders program, which is geared specifically toward professionals age 35 and under.
AZRE:Why did you choose CRE as a career field?
Chris Beall, senior associate, JLL Phoenix: Being from Phoenix, I knew a lot of successful people in the industry, family included. But after graduating from college I hadn’t thought a lot about what I was going to do. I was playing baseball and thought that’s what I wanted to do. Reality sunk in, however, and I knew I had to get a job. I was fortunate to know — and talk to — enough people to know what this business is and those people were all really fantastic individuals who made it easy for me to get into real estate.
Alex Boles, director of investment and development at ViaWest Group: My grandfather was a developer, and I was always attracted to his lifestyle and his excitement and fulfillment when he drove by a project and could say that he was a large part of it. As I got older, I found that real estate gave me a unique opportunity to make a living in development and that my passion for seeing buildings come up from a raw piece of land gives me the same excitement I once saw on my grandfather’s face.
Ellen Boles, commercial interior designer: Although my career goals never specifically involved commercial real estate, my interest in design ultimately led me to commercial interior architecture as the perfect platform to be both creative and technical. The dynamic nature of our industry and knowing that no two days would ever be the same is challenging and exciting.
