In December, Midwest Real Estate News published its first Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame issue, highlighting the careers of the most important pros in the commercial industry. Dennis Oklak with Indianapolis’ Duke Realty was one of the real estate stars that we featured in our first Hall of Fame.
Dennis Oklak Position: Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Company: Duke Realty Corporation Location: Indianapolis
Some names you just expect to see when you’re scanning through a collection of the top real estate professionals in the country. Dennis Oklak’s name is near the top of this list.
Oklak has exerted a tremendous influence on real estate in both the Midwest and across the country. He’s the chairman and chief executive officer of Indianapolis-based Duke Realty Corporation, one of the most important owners and developers of commercial property in the United States. And Duke wouldn’t be in its powerful position today if it wasn’t for the effort that Oklak has put into making an already strong company even stronger.
Consider this number: $7.3 billion. That’s the worth of the assets that Duke Realty Corporation currently holds.
And much of the company’s success can be traced back to Oklak’s skillful leadership. As chief executive officer, he serves as head of Duke’s Executive Committee. The members of this committee, with Oklak guiding the way, chart Duke’s strategic direction. Oklak is also head of the company’s Investment Committee, the committee responsible for approving Duke’s major capital transactions.
It’s no overstatement, then, to say that Dennis Oklak, as head of the committees approving the company’s purchases and yearly planning, has served as the driving force leading Duke to its current successes.
“Duke is in good hands with Dennis at the helm,” said one nominator. “Dennis doesn’t make rash decisions. He thinks everything over so carefully. He’s not one to ever make a decision without having all the information he needs to make the right one.”
Oklak has long held important positions at Duke, even before taking over as chief executive officer and chairman. He took over as president and chief operating officer at the company in 2003, one year before rising to his current position. In that role, he was responsible for directing all of the real estate operations of the company. It was, of course, an essential position within the company.
This is no surprise, though. Oklak has been a key player at Duke since joining the firm in 1986 after a nine-year run with global auditing and consulting firm Deloitte & Touche.
While rising through the ranks of Duke, and guiding the company to its current lofty perch in the commercial real estate world, Oklak has also managed to serve both his industry and his community.
He’s a member of the board of governors of the National Association of Real Estate Investment Trusts and the chairman of the Sustainability Policy Advisory Committee of the Real Estate Roundtable.
Active in the community, too, Oklak is a member of the board of directors of the Central Indiana Corporate Partnership and sits on the Dean’s Executive Advisory Board at Ball State University’s Miller College of Business.
