One of Orange County’s more savvy real estate investors is also among the most private, though a look behind the scenes hints at Greenlaw Partners’ success strategy.
A recent notable hire is a sign of that success.
“The company is unusual in that it’s incredibly entrepreneurial, where each employee feels vested,” said local real estate executive Kurt Strasmann, who joined the company in March after a 10-year career with CBRE Group Inc., where he oversaw much of the operations of Orange County’s largest commercial brokerage.
“There’s endless room for creative thinking, which enables us to pivot and adapt to the current marketplace.”
And adapt it has.
The Irvine-based company is known locally for its ability to navigate market cycles, partner with leading companies and notable co-investors, as well as invest and develop across all product types.
Couple that with the firm’s strong employee retention, culture and local philanthropic efforts, and you have one of OC’s best places to work.
Greenlaw, led by founder Wil Smith, ranks No. 4 in the midsized employer category on this year’s Business Journal Best Places to Work list, which includes firms with between 50 and 249 U.S. employees.
Equal Footing
Greenlaw is unique in that it doesn’t recognize job titles, with Strasmann noting he’s “simply part of the leadership group that forms the executive team.”
“There’s zero titles here. It’s all about performance and contributing to the company as a whole,” he said.
Keeping job titles to a minimum helps keep each of the firm’s 70 employees on equal footing, while not restricting the capabilities of any person.
“It’s a very humble operation in which everyone is valued, everyone’s voice is heard, and everyone supports each other,” Strasmann said.
Staffing Success
The company is interested in fostering future growth in the industry, with a paid internship program.
It currently has four interns, each graduating college seniors, which “creates opportunities for those early in their career within the industry,” Strasmann notes.
The interest Smith has in mentoring the next generation was apparent last year, after a $10 million donation established the USC Price Wilbur H. Smith III Department of Real Estate Development. He is a 1999 graduate of the master’s program in real estate development at the school.
Greenlaw itself is on a growth trajectory, and not just in terms of its portfolio—it’s actively hiring.
“We are looking to continue to grow with the right people with the right mindset,” Strasmann said.
Strasmann adds that Greenlaw offers “a super dynamic and high-energy working environment” with benefits that include flexible hours, frequent team events and meals, and involvement in Greenlaw Gives, the company’s philanthropic arm.
Those incentives, and a longstanding relationship with Smith, helped in recruiting Strasmann and others.
“It’s undoubtedly one of the most unique and successful companies in OC,” Strasmann said.
Industrial Growth
The firm’s external success helps to make internal growth possible.
Greenlaw has been involved in north of $7 billion in transactions since the company started in 2003; it’s ever-growing local portfolio tops 5 million square feet; notable properties here include the Von Karman Towers office complex that holds its headquarters.
The company counts several well-known e-commerce and logistics firms as part of its portfolio both in and out of Orange County.
Greenlaw last year sold its stake in the former campus of Mitsubishi Motors North America Inc. in Cypress, soon to become one of several planned ground-up distribution hubs for Seattle-based Amazon (see story, page 3).
Greenlaw paid Mitsubishi a reported $57.5 million for the property; Duke Realty Corp. (NYSE: DRE), the Indianapolis-based industrial developer heading the project, later paid a reported $73.4 million to become sole owner of the campus.
In a recent notable move by Greenlaw, city filings indicate the company is in talks with San Clemente to develop a new 105,000-square-foot e-commerce distribution facility.
Planning is still in the early stages.
