Each year, Midwest Real Estate News publishes its annual Midwest Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame issue. This year, we are also running these profiles online so that our readers can discover the hard work and smarts that go into succeeding as a CRE Hall of Fame member. This week, we look at the career of Christopher Fox, executive vice president and managing director of St. Louis-based Gershman Commercial Real Estate.
Headhunting: Four years ago, Gershman Commercial Real Estate hired Christopher Fox away from a competitor, getting a leader in the St. Louis-area CRE business. Fox is a past president of St. Louis’ Certified Commercial Investment Member (CCIM) chapter, the local Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR) and the St. Louis Association of Realtors-Commercial Division. He is also a member of the Commercial Information Exchange and the Missouri Growth Association. He’s the current central region president of the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).
Missouri maven: Fox knows the St. Louis commercial market. His clients say that this commercial veteran brings extensive market knowledge to every deal he closes. This has helped Fox develop a long list of satisfied, and repeat, clients.
Today, Fox is Gershman’s executive vice president of transactions and advisory services, and heads Gershman’s brokerage, transaction and advisory services division. His experience over a quarter-century includes managing more than 2.5 million square feet of office, industrial and retail space in the St. Louis market, leasing services for tenants and landlords, and investment sales ranging to portfolios exceeding 400,000 square feet.
Managing expectations: Fox is also known as an honest broker. He provides real advice to his clients, and doesn’t sugarcoat potential challenges or issues.
“One of the greatest challenges is managing the expectations of both the seller and the buyer,” he said. “Owning real estate is a long-term initiative, so macroeconomic factors such as interest rates and overall economic performance can greatly affect the sales cycle in real estate.”
Nabbing the big awards: Fox has been recognized with the “Office Deal of the Year Award” and the CCIM of the Year Award, and has been honored as a Multiple Sclerosis Corporate Achiever for the work he’s done supporting the National Multiple Sclerosis Society.
Wisdom: Like most top commercial brokers, Fox relies on a simple formula for success. He works with smart people, he works hard and he always keeps his clients’ best interests in mind.
“I have been very fortunate in my career to have been surrounded by some really-good people that took an interest in my success,” Fox said. “I have found that if you work hard, conduct yourself in an ethical manner and surround yourself with good people, opportunities for advancement will surface in this industry.”
