They Wanted a Challenge, Saw Opportunity, and Got Their Boss’ Blessing
Dick and Vic are going it alone.
Richard Ortwein and Victor Laidlaw, two senior executives with the Koll organization, have left their posts with that firm to launch Focus Real Estate LP, which will concentrate on developing and managing projects for the burgeoning high-tech industry.
Ortwein and Laidlaw said they leave with the blessings of Koll chairman Don Koll, and expect to forge an ongoing relationship with their former employer, including joint ventures. Indeed, since Focus Real Estate won’t be a general contractor, an opportunity exists to work with Koll Construction, they said.
Don Koll, in a telephone interview, said he understood Ortwein’s and Laidlaw’s desire to branch out on their own, a move many former Koll executives have undertaken in the past. Over the years, Koll and his organization have developed a reputation as a training ground, something he said he is proud of.
“I look at it as they come here with us and stay with us for a period of time and do great work with us, and if they want to go out (on their own), I don’t stop them at all,” said the 66-year-old Koll, one of Orange County’s most prolific developers. “That’s great.
“I wish they’d stay here forever and wouldn’t go out on their own, but that’s just the evolution of the business.”
Furthermore, while Koll won’t have a stake in Focus Real Estate, he did offer to invest in individual deals.
“I told them any time they’re looking for money to call me and if we have money available and it’s a good project, we’d do it,” Don Koll said.
New Challenges
The main motivation for the move, Ortwein and Laidlaw said, is the challenge such an opportunity affords them. As longtime employees of Koll,who has a reputation for generously rewarding his top lieutenants,and beneficiaries of several construction boom cycles during their careers, Ortwein and Laidlaw said they could easily take a passive approach to the real estate industry by becoming investors. But at 58 and 53, respectively, Ortwein and Laidlaw said they still want to be actively involved and challenged, something that meeting the development needs of the fast-paced high-tech industry offers.
For Laidlaw, whose children are involved with the high-tech industry, the move will allow him to have a role in what he views as an exciting sector.
“The reality is that the service industry is changing and the environment for the real estate industry is changing,” he said. “Now’s a great time to get on board with some of these people.
“In a way, it’s we old guys trying to keep up with the young guys,” Laidlaw added.
Don Koll was informed of the pair’s plans to leave the firm at least a month ago, they said, and they helped oversee the search for their replacements.
Ortwein and Laidlaw, most recently presidents of Koll Development Company and Koll Construction, respectively, are the latest high-ranking officials to leave the Koll organization. Earlier this year, Koll Development Co. executives James Watson and Keith Ross left to join eDevelopment.com, a technology start-up with ties to Buy.com founder Scott Blum.
Donald W. Dreusike, a 40-year veteran of the development and construction business, takes over for Laidlaw at Koll Construction. Gerald O. Yahr, Don Koll’s son -in-law and a rising executive with the Koll organization, takes over Ortwein’s former position. (See accompanying story.)
Increased Involvement
For Ortwein and Laidlaw, the move also reflects a desire to have greater control and day-to-day involvement.
“We want to work more with clients and less on the administrative end,” Ortwein said.
The two hope to take on fewer projects, as opposed to overseeing various projects across the country as they did with Koll, which will allow them to become more intimately involved in their deals.
“Instead of doing 50 projects a year, we’ll do five a year,” Ortwein said.
The new company, with offices in Irvine, initially will focus activity in Southern California, but both Ortwein and Laidlaw said they expect eventually to take advantage of the national contacts they forged during their many years at Koll. The company is owned 50-50 by Ortwein and Laidlaw.
Ortwein and Laidlaw believe that the long recession during the late ’80s and early ’90s drove many experienced professionals out of the industry, and while new talent has filled the gap during the current construction boom, prospective clients will want to tap the long experience Ortwein and Laidlaw offer.
“There’s a lot of talented young people (in the industry), but they’re not long on experience,” Ortwein said.
“We’re betting on the fact that they’ll come to us versus going to somebody else,” Laidlaw added.
Industry Veteran
Ortwein had been with the Koll organization for 20 years in various capacities. Prior to Koll, he spent 10 years with Wells Fargo Bank. A graduate of the U.S. Naval Academy, Ortwein is affiliated with various local and national organizations, including the Orange County Business Council, the Urban Land Institute and the National Association of Industrial and Office Properties.
Laidlaw joined the Koll organization from the Moran Company, where for 11 years he served as vice president of construction, vice president of construction operations and project manager. Laidlaw holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture from Cal Poly San Luis Obispo and general contractor licenses in California, Arizona, Florida and Nevada.
While there are no ventures in place,a result they said of their commitment to Don Koll to devote their focus on Koll operations until their departure,Ortwein and Laidlaw expect to have their first deal within 60 days. n
