Jim Clewlow, Chief Investment Officer at CenterPoint Properties, Jeff Liljeberg, one of the top office brokers at JLL and Cal Wessman, one of the top office brokers at CBRE, were fraternity brothers from the University of Illinois. They all joined CBRE out of school together in 1985. According to Clewlow, Liljeberg and Wessman went to work in Chicago’s downtown office sector, and he took an industrial position in CBRE’s Schaumburg office working the O’Hare industrial market.
“They thought I was nuts,” Clewlow said. “But we were all fortunate to have entered the business at a time when strong macroeconomic winds were at our back. Today, we’re still incredibly close and talk all of the time.”
Jeff Liljeberg and Cal Wessman, according to Clewlow, have been very helpful to him from the start and notes that they are still great advisors today.
“Pat McCourt trained me at CBRE and we had a great partnership for eleven years,” he said. “He was smart, focused, very hard-working, earnest and instrumental in helping me develop the proper discipline.”
“Finally, but certainly not least important, is Mike Mullen, who recruited me from CBRE to CenterPoint in 1997,” Clewlow added. “He’s a charismatic, witty and incredibly innovative investor/leader, who taught me the value of a positive experiential transactional process for our customers. Not only did Mike make money with everything he touched, he did it with the idea it could be fun and didn’t have to be a zero-sum game.”
After more than 25 years in the business, Clewlow loves the people and the pace of the industry. “The pace is typically fast and working with great, talented people is exciting. I feel like I learn something new every day. The most rewarding part of my job is building organizational momentum to create value in everything we do.”
According to the company’s site, CenterPoint Properties is focused on the development, acquisition and management of industrial property and transportation infrastructure that enhances business and government supply chain efficiency.
What sets CenterPoint apart from other companies, according to Clewlow? “Strong values with a focus on developing lasting relationships with our brokers and customers.”
“On the acquisition side,” Clewlow said. “We’ve established great beachheads in NJ, LA and Houston, thanks to the efforts of Brian Townsend, Jed Degnan and Tara LaRose in NJ; Jim Linn, Andy Brown and Sam Uribe in LA; and Chris Tecu, Scotty Benedetto and Susan Costello in Houston. Laura Petrucci is our secret weapon, because she’s the glue that holds the entire team together.”
It’s hard for Clewlow to pinpoint his most memorable deal, as he noted CenterPoint has had some great deals that have produced tremendous stories.
“From the early days, when we were recycling out of properties, after holding them for months – to the CalPERS JV, which bought the Company for $3.4B – to the Mirvac relationship, when we sold an $800M portfolio in 2007 – to nationalizing the business into LA and NJ in late 2008, after Lehman collapsed. It’s been a great journey and I am privileged to have been and be part of a great team for all of these years.”
So what trends is Clewlow currently seeing in the market? “There are lots of exciting logistic and e-commerce trends occurring in the industrial sector which are creating tremendous opportunity,” he said. “But clearly, low energy costs, low interest rates and a pro-business national political climate are combining to produce what looks like to be a good run for all of us in the industrial real estate business for many years to come.”
When Clewlow isn’t working, he’s at home with his family.
“Now my kids are beginning to leave me,” he said. “My son, Tony, and daughter, Caylie, are at the University of Michigan and my youngest, Michael, is off to Indiana University. It’s hard see them go, but I am very proud of them and love them so much (they would probably say too much). My wife, Jean, has put up with me now for 22 years! She’s a saint!”
One thing he’d like to do, that he hasn’t already in his lifetime? “Score a hole-in-one.”
What’s Clewlow’s favorite movie? “I don’t just have one. Shawshank Redemption, Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, All the Presidents Men, To Kill a Mockingbird and Godfather II are some of my favorites.”
“I love all music, but again, I don’t really have a favorite. Some of my favorite artists are Bruce Hornsby, Mark Knopfler, Wilco, Eric Clapton and Bruce Springsteen.”
For the upcoming holidays Clewlow is going to be one busy man, and hopefully he’ll have comfortable shoes! “I’ll be attending about 5,000 holiday parties,” he said.
