After more than a decade helping to run Triniti Partners, a boutique brokerage he co-founded in Southern California, George Stavaris decided it was time to go global.

To do that, he left Triniti last week for brokerage JLL, where Stavaris is serving as a managing director specializing in representing owners and occupiers in the San Fernando, Santa Clarita and Simi Valley markets in northern Los Angeles. Triniti continues to operate as a brokerage.

"This was a long, hard decision," Stavaris, who's based in JLL's office in Burbank, California, said in an email. "After a very successful run at Triniti Partners, the writing on the wall was that my career is best suited for a global brand."

That's because the world of warehouses and distribution and logistics centers has changed a lot since he got into the business more than two decades ago, Stavaris said.

"The industrial real estate market continues to evolve," he said. "With more and more larger sites being purchased by institutional owners [and] businesses consolidating into larger corporations, it was best to focus on the skill set and market intelligence I can provide that drove me to make the change."

Over the past several years, several brokerage shops expressed an interest in having him join their firm, but Stavaris said he always felt JLL would be a natural fit if he were to one day to make the move to a global operation.

"JLL allows me to service clients that have a presence here and nationwide to service them effectively," he said.

The brokerage added Stavaris because of increased demand for industrial work among its clients, said Charlie Smith, JLL senior managing director and Los Angeles brokerage lead.

“As the Southern California industrial market has grown over the past several years, we have seen a greater need for industrial real estate services in the North Los Angeles area,” Smith said in a statement.

When it comes to changes, Stavaris has seen plenty during his time working industrial deals in Southern California.

"When I first got started, the San Fernando Valley was a major hub for aerospace manufacturing. Since then, we have seen a lot of these businesses either move up to Santa Clarita or out of state," he said. "We still have a healthy amount of aerospace with highly skilled or complex manufacturers not wanting to lose the labor base, but the bulk of the smaller companies are gone. Also gone is the adult film industry with all of the space backfilled by service-related businesses or the traditional film industry."

Stavaris got interested in commercial real estate while working with his father on large public works painting projects. In that position, Stavaris handled bidding and managed executed contracts for institutional and commercial buildings. After the 1994 Northridge earthquake, Stavaris started a construction company to rebuild schools damaged by the natural disaster.

As he got into his 30s, he decided it was time to become a broker. He figured he could leverage the knowledge he accumulated about how commercial properties were built and maintained and how contracts were reviewed, negotiated and executed, Stavaris said.

He started as a broker at Cushman & Wakefield and worked for Colliers and Grubb & Ellis, now part of Newmark, before co-founding Triniti in April 2011.

"It seemed like a natural fit to get into industrial real estate sales and leasing," he said. "I was very comfortable with the fact that I would only get paid if I was successful and not having to rely on others for my success. I took the leap of faith."