In the traditional model of commercial real estate, a tenant can have multiple relationships with an outside services provider that appear unconnected. There is the brokerage side that helps a tenant identify space and negotiate lease terms. There can also be a relationship that involves consulting after a lease is finalized.
JLL is tinkering with that model.
The Chicago-based company recently made Alex Diaz responsible for a new initiative to unify JLL’s brokerage, transaction management and advisory divisions. Diaz, who left Cushman & Wakefield for JLL a year ago, was given the new duties this month along with a new job title: president of enterprise portfolio solutions.
The commercial real estate industry has "traditionally been siloed between corporate services and brokerage,” Diaz said in an interview with CoStar News. “My mandate is to bring the best of JLL forward and pull our best people up front,” Diaz told CoStar News. “It’s a holistic approach.”
The enterprise portfolio solutions division will serve JLL’s largest users of space for all property types, Diaz said. He stressed that the initiative will not involve merging the business divisions.
Rival CBRE recently made a similar organizational move, combining some of its own back-office operations, although the Dallas company kept its brokerage unit separate. Last year, CBRE merged its building operations, workplace experience and property management departments into a single division called Building Operations & Experience, according to its latest annual report.
Diaz is located in JLL’s Atlanta office and reports to Karen Brennan, CEO of leasing advisory. Diaz, who is fluent in Spanish, has an MBA from Florida International University and a bachelor's from The Ohio State University.