Real estate executive Doug Hanna is bringing his office leasing experience to Weitzman, enhancing the offerings of the Dallas-based property services firm that historically focused on retail.
Launching himself into a new role is how Hanna functions these days. The decades-long office leasing broker and his family are coping with the sudden loss of his 8-year-old daughter Hadley, who was killed over the summer in the deadly flash floods in the Texas Hill Country that took the lives of at least 138 people. Hadley was one of 27 campers and counselors who died at Camp Mystic, a private youth camp for girls on the Guadalupe River, in the early morning hours on the Fourth of July.
Months after his daughter's death, Hanna is sticking to a routine that both grounds him and gives him purpose, he told CoStar News. He starts each day by getting out of bed to play pickleball at 6 a.m., leans into his faith and recently joined his new company. At Weitzman, he is vice president in charge of its new service, office building agency representation.
Hadley's memory is at the center of everything Hanna does, with a sole photo of her being the only adornment on his new desk at Weitzman's office in Uptown Dallas.
"My strength comes from the inspiration that she's given me," Hanna told CoStar News.
Weitzman, known for being a retail-focused brokerage serving markets throughout Texas, is expanding its services with office and industrial divisions. Hanna is responsible for office landlord leasing in key markets in the Dallas-Fort Worth region, the nation's fourth-largest metropolitan area.
Family-centric culture
Herb Weitzman, who has been a real estate broker for more than a half-century, built his namesake firm with a family-centric culture. Both Herb Weitzman and Marshall Mills, who is president and CEO of Weitzman, helped recruit Hanna to expand the company's office division.
"We pride ourselves on people being our greatest asset," Mills told CoStar News. "When I first met Doug, I was aware of what transpired, and I was amazed at how poised he was given the trauma he went through of losing a child."
Herb Weitzman, who also has experienced a deep personal family loss, offered Hanna advice that got him through some dark days: "The best thing you can do is get immersed back into the business."
The leadership duo also told Hanna they understood if he had a bad day or a bad week and his family would have the full support of the Weitzman work family, Mills said.
"Work is important, but it's not the most important thing," Mills said, adding that he's proud of Hanna for continuing with his real estate career during what he can only imagine is an extremely difficult time.
For Hanna, Hadley inspires every step he takes forward in his career. He said he remembers her grit and determination in reaching her goals, like her desire to be a cheerleader at school this fall pushed her to new athletic limits.
Before joining Weitzman, Hanna spent time traveling back-and-forth from Dallas to Austin, Texas, to testify with his wife, Carrie, before state lawmakers for new safety rules for youth camps. Texas Gov. Greg Abbott signed the Texas summer camp safety bills into law in September that prohibit cabins in flood zones, mandate emergency training for staff and campers and require camps to install warning systems and backup communications.
"It was this terrible, preventable disaster and there were 27 campers and counselors that passed. It was a miracle there weren't another 200 girls along with them," Hanna said.
The Hannas' eldest daughter, 10-year-old Harper, was also attending Camp Mystic during the July 4th floods and survived.
New chapter
These days, Hanna said he grapples with his devastation by moving into what he's calling his new chapter, including helping his new firm expand.
"Weitzman is going to be open for office in a big way," Hanna said, adding the firm is looking for landlords that need help leasing their properties. "We're on the ground floor right now, and we are putting it together. But we are capable and competent, and I expect we'll be gaining market share quickly."
Hanna said he plans to use his decades of experience leasing office buildings for owners to get office properties ready to trade, another expansion of the firm's services after hiring Creighton Stark to lead its office capital markets group. Weitzman's expansion into office comes amid there being "an opening that rarely exists these days" to lease up and market walkable and in-demand office space, Hanna said.
"Investment sales and leasing relationships is a close and mutually beneficial relationship," Hanna said, adding the two practices go hand-in-hand.
"We are going to focus on the Class A office that works," Hanna said. "The tough buildings are getting tougher. But leasing is accretive to the value of office buildings. I plan to lease up the buildings so Creighton can sell them."
Prior to joining Weitzman, Hanna worked at RMC Property Holdings, Sunwest Real Estate Group and Newmark. He is a former member of the planning and zoning commission for the city of University Park as well as other committees. He has a bachelor's of science from the University of Texas at Arlington.