Transwestern Hires Regional Leader Of Business Development And Operations
July 31, 2008
Transwestern’s Atlanta office today announced that Bruce Ford has joined the firm as Executive Vice
President. Ford will be responsible for all the company’s business development efforts in the
Southeast as they relate to new leasing, management, and investment sales assignments, as well as
the firm’s sustainability services throughout the Southeast.
Ford will also support Jim Ledbetter, president of Transwestern’s Southeast region, as the
chief operations officer for the region, directly overseeing the day-to-day activities of the firm’s
Atlanta and Miami offices. Transwestern employs approximately 150 professionals in the
Southeast and out of Atlanta oversees a portfolio of commercial assets totaling more than 10.7
million square feet.
Ford was most recently regional president of GVA Advantis, working out of that firm’s Atlanta
headquarters office and overseeing all lines of business in Georgia and the Carolinas.
“I am very excited that Bruce is joining us and will be taking charge of our new business
efforts,” said Jim Ledbetter, president of Transwestern’s southeast region. “Bruce brings to
Transwestern his great working relationships with owners of commercial assets in the Southeast and
a strong career track record generating new third-party business. In addition, his proven
executive management skills will greatly enhance our internal organization, a critical need for us
as Transwestern continues to grow in Atlanta, Miami, and throughout the Southeast.”
Over the past six months, Transwestern’s two full-service offices in the region have added
more than 2.0 million square feet of new leasing and/or management assignments. In Atlanta,
these include 200 Ashford Center north in the Central Perimeter and The Shops Around Lenox in
Buckhead. In Miami, the firm recently picked up the responsibilities for Miami Center, the
second-largest office building in the State of Florida, as well as leasing and marketing
assignments for two new, under development mixed-use projects.
Transwestern has also grown in terms of employee headcount, adding five new brokers since the
beginning of 2008. In Atlanta, the new hires include the senior retail team of Spencer Bomar
and Patrick Arnold, industrial broker Brent Dutson, and office broker Baxter Lusink. In
Miami, the firm added senior broker Eric Groffman from Jones Lang LaSalle.
“Despite the slow economy and a lackluster commercial real estate market, we’ve been able to
outperform expectations,” said Ledbetter. “We’ve won considerable new business since the
start of this year, added experienced brokerage professionals, and have a lot of momentum under way
from a recruiting standpoint. Bruce joins us at an opportune time and will be instrumental in
maintaining and enhancing our growth.”
Ford is charged with growing Transwestern’s owner services business throughout the Southeast,
which includes new agency leasing, property management, and investment sales assignments, as well
as integrating the company’s sustainability and energy services with the leasing, management, and
sales disciplines. He will also be responsible for the firm’s regional operations in the
Southeast, overseeing the day-to-day running of the two offices, including all aspects of human
resources, information technology, and financial planning and budgeting. As the regional
president of Transwestern, this will allow Ledbetter to spend more time on the overall growth of
the company, including recruitment of new brokerage professionals, geographic expansion through
partnerships and acquisitions, and identifying new development opportunities.
“I was attracted to Transwestern because of their growth and their people, both in the
Southeast and around the country,” said Ford. “Transwestern is a highly regarded, quality,
results- and customer-driven firm. The opportunity to join Transwestern and play a leadership
role, partnering with Jim Ledbetter, is exciting. The company is experiencing similar success
in the other markets where they operate, both in terms of growing their business and attracting
quality talent. I look forward to being a part of that continued growth and success in
Atlanta, Miami, and eventually other Southeastern markets.”
Ford’s career not only includes executive-level leadership at GVA Advantis, but also at its
predecessor, Goodman Segar Hogan Hoffler, a Virginia-based real estate firm. He started his
career at The Smith Companies. Ford is a graduate of Wake Forest University and has completed
post-graduate level courses, including the “Running a Real Estate Company” program at
Harvard. He holds the Real Property Administrator (RPA) professional designation from the
Building Owners and Managers Institute (BOMI), is active in Holy Innocents Episcopal Church and
School, and is a board member of Childspring International.
About the Company
Transwestern, one of the largest privately held commercial real estate and development firms
in the U.S., is focused on creating value for our clients in each local market we serve.
Transwestern’s unique business model offers fully integrated real estate services and operates
through six distinct functional lines of business - agency leasing, property and facility
management, investment services, tenant advisory, development and research - for a broad range of
property types, including office, industrial, retail, healthcare and multifamily.
Transwestern leads the industry in sustainability and has received multiple EPA ENERGY STAR®
awards. We have partnered with our clients and the USGBC to pursue LEED® certification on
projects across the country. Please visit us at
www.transwestern.net.