For a man who thought his entire career would be in the technology field, Daniel Ryan has made quite the mark in commercial real estate. He made the switch 17 years ago and has not looked back. Now, as Midwest Market Director for Jones Lang LaSalle, Ryan has overall responsibility for the firm’s regional services, which include tenant representation, agency leasing, property management, project and development services, capital markets, and construction.
Ryan recently sat down with Mark Thomton, editor of the Illinois Real Estate Journal, to talk about the current state of the market, Jones Lang LaSalle’s growth strategies, and, reflect on his 17 years in the business. The following is a portion of their conversation.
What was your first job?
The first job I ever had was a caddy. It was probably one of the best jobs for a young kid. I was able to learn the game the golf and the etiquette of the game. What a great job. I was outside in the summertime and I had the opportunity to make some decent cash.
How did you get your start in commercial real estate?
I worked in the computer and technology business for a dozen years. I started at IBM in marketing and sales and eventually I went into a management roll. I then went to work for a company called XL/Datacomp. It was a mid-sized computer company started by several IBMers. The firm was eventually acquired. Several of the folks I worked with asked if I had any interest in the commercial real estate business. My reaction was surprise, because I always thought 
that I would stay in technology. At the time, this was 1994, the real estate business was coming out of a downturn and there was a real movement to bring a professional services approach to commercial real estate. LaSalle Partners was leading the way. There were many IBM folks that joined LaSalle Partners. The firm was interested in their corporate skills and was willing to teach them the real estate business. So 17 years ago, I joined a group of 20 people that were doing national tenant representation.
What was the learning curve like?
It was an interesting first day. I came into the office and had to put together a large lease summary, something that I had never done before. I worked for Tom Cox, who is now a principal at Fulcrum (Fulcrum Asset Advisors, LLC). He was my manager and a mentor to me.
Who else has influenced your career?
A key influence in my career was John Phillips. He was the co-leader of our tenant representation group when I joined. He just retired from JLL a few years ago. He was an IBMer. He interviewed me and hired me. John was the consummate professional and was focused on client services and new business development. He had a lot of energy and focus. He taught me a lot. Another person that I gained tremendous experience from is Bill Krouch, our current CEO of our markets business. He is, in my mind, one of the finest operating professionals in our industry.
I would say that one of the highlights of my role now is working with a strong management team across the Midwest. Steve Stratton, Bill Rogers, Steve Smith, Bruce Miller, Steve Zsigray, David Roberts, and Keith Stauber, these senior professionals have helped drive our strategy across the Midwest.
When you look at your career, what are some of the high-water marks for you?
I would say the last five years of our business has been the most challenging, but also the most energetic. We have really evolved our business in the last several year and implemented strategic priorities. One of the big priorities is adding additional depth in our key markets across the world. In Chicago specifically, five years ago we had a dozen brokers focused on the market. Through some key hires, combined with the Staubach merger, we now have about 100 brokers across all areas of our business. That includes tenant representation, capital markets, agency leasing, and industrial.
The growth has been strategically implemented, but we have come up the curve quickly. While we have grown in the last few years, it’s not about being the biggest, but the best. We won’t grow for the sake of growth.
It has been very gratifying along the way. I’m very energized by what we are doing. We are taking what we have built with this global platform the last few years and combining that with great, local talent.
What are you focusing on right now in your role?
A few years ago as we were adding more depth, we applied more of a geographic focus. My role today is overseeing all of our service lines in the Midwest. We are now looking strategically at all our services in the Midwest and determining where we want to go and how we will get there. For example, two years ago we didn’t have an office in Indianapolis. Today we do. Similarly we are adding more depth in St. Louis and Minneapolis. We had just been doing tenant 
representation in Minneapolis prior to six months ago. Now, we have added project management capabilities and agency leasing capabilities. We will continue to have measured growth, but we are just beginning to scratch the surface in building some of these business and practices where we haven’t been.
What are some of the bright spots you see in commercial real estate right now?
I’d say there are a couple of positive signs out there. We have seen a return of the capital market environment. That initially started in the distressed area through foreclosures, yet as the availability of capital has returned on the debt and equity side, there is a much more robust environment for investment sales across all asset types. It is certainly not the levels we saw pre-recession, but much higher than what we have seen the last few years. The other positive is related to the user side. I think that users and corporations–while still looking to optimize their real estate footprint– are feeling a little more optimistic in their ability to expand. Whether that is by initiating an expansion right in a lease, or, taking on incremental growth after expiration of a lease, we are beginning to see some positive signs. Ultimately, though, what we need is job growth to drive this on a sustainable basis.
Do you think this recovery is sustainable right now?
I see a sustained recovery in the future. The current recovery we are experiencing is a bit stalled. This recovery is unique in that historically, recoveries have been driven by the housing market or backed by stronger personal spending. We are not seeing that right now. On the corporate side, through cost-cutting, corporations have strong balance sheets. We are seeing some deployment of that in technology and R&D, and, some hiring. We need corporations to feel more optimistic so they can begin the hiring, which will ultimately help personal spending.
As you mentioned, the capital markets have improved. We have seen investment sales pick up in Chicago. What about other Midwestern cities? How are the secondary and tertiary markets?
There certainly has been a good amount of activity in Chicago within the last year. Outside of Chicago, there is some pretty healthy investor interest. Everyone is looking to take advantage of the current environment. What investors are finding is that it is trickier than they think. We are seeing a broadening of perspectives as people start to look outside of Chicago and look at secondary Midwestern markets.
What is a piece of advice you pass on to a young professional getting into CRE?
I would encourage someone coming into our business to be a sponge. Typically we hire people into one of our service lines. We expect them to become an expert in that service line. I like to encourage people to think broadly and understand the other service lines. Build relationships with people across different service lines. I think that makes someone a better professional within their own specialty, but it also broadens their capabilities and gives them more career options as time goes on.
What is a perfect day for you away from the office?
From a family perspective, it would probably be going to any number of activities that my kids are involved in. That could be cross-country, track, basketball, lacrosse, water polo, dance, or band. It’s a number of activities, but it is about spending time with them. That is a lot of fun. I can’t attend all of them, but I like to go to as many as I can. I have six kids, one boy and five girls.
On the personal side, I would enjoy playing 36 holes at some terrific golf course with some great friends.
What have you been reading?
I read the Wall Street Journal or the Tribune as much as I can. I just read The Big Short by Michael Lewis. That was a fascinating account about the fall of the housing market and how we got into this recession.
You do a lot of charity work in your spare time as well. What are some of the organizations you dedicate your time to?
I’d say that there are two organizations that I am passionate about. One is City of Hope. It is one of the leading cancer research organizations in the nation. I had a chance to serve as a committee leader for the annual dinner last year for the Chicago real estate community. We raised $500,000 for cancer research. I have a family member who is dealing with a brain tumor. He is fortunately doing very well right now. I continue to serve on City of Hope’s regional executive committee.
Another group I am really passionate about is The Cara Program. This program was founded by Tom Owens, a former IBM employee. Cara in Gaelic means friend. The purpose of the program is to work with adults who have been impacted by homelessness and poverty, to give them life skills and job skills. Some of these adults have challenging backgrounds and they come into the program and learn a lot about themselves. The ability to get the skills they need to obtain a job after the program is over is life changing for them. It is a tremendous organization. Students are referred into the program and once they go through the entire program, Cara guarantees them a full-time job.
