Each year, Midwest Real Estate News runs its annual Hall of Fame issue, highlighting the careers of the top commercial real estate professionals in the Midwest. This year, we are running those profiles online, too. Today, we focus on the busy career of Mark Long, executive managing director and principal with the Kansas City, Missouri, office of Newmark Grubb Zimmer.
Long story short: Mark Long was called on to lead the brokerage operations at Zimmer Real Estate Services in Kansas City shortly after graduating from Rockhurst College in 1995. He didn’t look back.
He’s now a principle and executive managing director in the firm now known as Newmark Grubb Zimmer. He’s become a key part in helping the company become the powerhouse that it is today. With 100 people in Kansas City and St. Louis, Newmark Grubb Zimmer has thrived with his leadership.
Putting up the numbers: Long has been involved in 800 transactions worth well over $1 billion, and more than 20 million square feet of industrial, office and medical space.
“We are in a very competitive business,” he said. “The top people in our industry are good. We can never get comfortable with where we sit or we will go away. Selling commercial real estate requires a fast pace and you can never let up.”
Meeting the challenges: “It’s a very challenging business that requires an incredible amount of thought and creativity,” the 23-year CRE veteran said. “The business is always changing. The way we are doing things today is completely different from how we did things five years ago and not even close to the way we did things 20 years ago.”
Supporting his industry: Long has served on the international board of directors of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors international, SIOR Chapter President, President of Kansas City Commercial Board of Realtors and as a board director for KC Smartport. He serves on the Industrial Leadership Council for Newmark Knight Frank.
Having fun: “Days go by in the blink of an eye because we have fun doing what we do,” he said. “Helping clients make decisions that have a deep impact on their operations or major investment decisions is a great responsibility but very rewarding. The fun part is working with a team on projects that start with an idea and end with a result that can have great impact on a community for many years to come.”
Mentors matter: ” I have been able to learn the business from some great mentors – Hugh Zimmer and David Zimmer,” Long said. “They both spent countless hours passing on industry knowledge and lessons. Deep knowledge that comes from practicing real estate and development at the highest level for several decades. The team around me is a group of very bright people that allow me to focus on doing what I do best – developing relationships, advising clients and creating solutions.”
