SVN Advisor Gail Bowden Named 2016 Woman of Influence

Posted on September 2, 2016 by SVN

Advisor Gail Bowden Recognized by Real Estate Forum for her Contributions to the CRE Industry

SVN International Corp. (SVN) recently announced that Gail Bowden, Senior Investment Advisor with SVN | Commercial Advisory Group in Sarasota, FL, has been recognized as one of Real Estate Forum’s 2016 Women of Influence. The 23rd annual list recognizes top performing female professionals in commercial real estate whose track record of achievements have helped shape and influence the traditionally male-dominated industry.

Real Estate Forum, a leading publication in the commercial real estate industry, chose this year’s impressive winners from a pool of more than 300 high-caliber nominees. Bowden earned her spot on the coveted list due to her exceptional transactional volume and contributions to the industry. With over 30 years in CRE, she has cultivated a strong reputation and list of accomplishments that have contributed to a career sales total of over $200 million. Bowden recently ranked as the 3rd top-performing SVN Advisor on a national level and ranks among the top two percent of SVN commercial real estate Advisors in the United States.

“It’s a great honor to have been selected as a 2016 Women of Influence,” says SVN Senior Investment Advisor Gail Bowden. “One of my ongoing life goals has been to inspire and empower other women; to instill in them that there are no barriers, the glass ceiling has been shattered and the path has been created to achieve even greater success. In my opinion, true success is measured by our ability to pay it forward, give back through mentoring and philanthropy.”

Beyond her success on the CRE playing field, Bowden donates much of her time to industry and community organizations, including Habitat for Humanity, SPARCC (Safe Place & Rape Crisis Center) and helping SVN launch the Women’s CRE Forum (WCF) earlier this year. WCF is a dedicated platform providing education and mentorship to new and established female commercial real estate professionals with the goal of increasing and strengthening much needed female leadership in the real estate industry.

“Here at SVN we experience Gail’s hard work and commitment everyday and can’t think of anyone else more deserving of this achievement,” said SVN President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “Serving as an example and mentor to many in the industry, Gail has been instrumental in launching the Women’s CRE Forum. Part of SVN’s Shared Value Network initiative, the forum serves as a tool to help further promote gender balance in commercial real estate.”

Bowden and her fellow winners are featured in Real Estate Forum’s August issue, as well as on GlobeSt.com. They will also be honored in an awards ceremony on October 5th at the joint RealShare New York and RealShare Investment & Finance cocktail reception.

[bctt tweet=”One of my ongoing life goals has been to inspire and empower other women – Gail Bowden #CRE” username=”svnic”]

SVN Wins CRE Industry Award for Social Responsibility

Posted on June 27, 2016 by SVN

Industry Peers Recognize SVN in NREI/IMN Awards

SVN International Corp. (SVN) recently announced it has earned a National Real Estate Investor (NREI) & Information Management Network (IMN) 2016 Commercial Real Estate Award for Social Responsibility. The inaugural awards recognize top performing organizations that exemplify the highest degree of business excellence and forward thinking in the commercial real estate industry.

The NREI/IMN 2016 Commercial Real Estate Awards are given for superiority in the areas of Innovation, Disruption, Social Responsibility and Social Media that have contributed significantly to the commercial real estate industry over the past 12 months. SVN was named as the winner in the Brokers: Social Responsibility category due to the firm’s qualitative and quantitative measures to enhance the industry’s image, give back to the community, improve society as well as promote diversity and the next generation.

Bringing Diversity to the Commercial Real Estate Industry

“This award is a testament to the importance we place on diverse thought at SVN, and more importantly, that the industry is listening,” says SVN President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “In 2015 we rebranded with a goal of creating a Shared Value Network of openness, inclusiveness and innovation, which meant bringing intentionality to recruiting and empowering women, Millennials and minorities. By the end of last year, 40% of all new SVN franchises were minority or women-owned. For comparison, in 2004 98% of SVN franchise owners were male. Since then we have increased the number of women and minority owners by over 1000% percent. It’s truly been an incredible and rewarding shift.”

This year the NREI/IMN 2016 Commercial Real Estate Awards saw an unprecedented number of nominations making the final decisions no easy task. All awards are based on a system of nominations and peer selection. Winners, selected by NREI’s esteemed panel of judges, were announced at the awards dinner on June 13th in New York. By recognizing outstanding achievement in the industry, the Industry Awards hope to inspire innovation and leadership among participants, creating a meaningful annual benchmark that acknowledges and rewards excellence in the commercial real estate industry.

To learn more about joining the innovative SVN platform, visit the franchising opportunities page here.

[bctt tweet=”This award is a testament to the importance we place on diverse thought at SVN #CRE” username=”svnic”]

SVN Specialty Awards: Firm of the Year – SVN | Northco

Posted on May 20, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

If you read my recent blog post about the SVN Annual Conference highlights, you know that the SVN Specialty Awards recognize members of the SVN community who have distinguished themselves in 2015 by making significant impacts on the commercial real estate industry and beyond. The awards – which included Team Player of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Collaborator of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Prospector of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Firm of the Year – looked beyond production results and instead focused on culture. The winners of this year’s SVN Specialty Awards each embody traits that the SVN culture values immensely: practicing collaboration, cooperation and conscious capitalism while excelling in commercial real estate.

SVN Firm of the Year 2015 – SVN | Northco

Firm of the Year is not the same as Top Producing Firm, although it can be. But when we look at nominees for Firm of the Year, we look for firms that are using the SVN tools, systems, resources and other offices to grow their presence. From the day SVN | Northco joined the SVN organization they went to our Jumpstart training events, used the SVN Live℠ Open Sales Calls to market properties, and embodied SVN’s collaborative culture. If you’ve ever called them for help on a golf or resort proposal, you’ve experienced it. They’re big, they’re productive, they cover many different parts of their market, and they’re a great bunch of men and women. And, this year, they are our Firm of the Year.

Led by Executive Directors Frank Jermusek and Walt Van Heest along with Managing Director Cameron Peterson, Northco became a member of the SVN organization in 2014. Headquartered in Minneapolis, MN, SVN Northco Real Estate Services is a full service commercial real estate firm that has been a leader in the Twin Cities market since 1975.

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Subscribe to the SVN blog on the right-hand column of the blog homepage to stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

SVN Specialty Awards: Innovator of the Year – Al Stepan

Posted on May 6, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Innovator of the Year 2015 – Al Stepan

When it comes to treating an SVN franchise like a business, no one is more of an innovator than Al Stepan. He has led the organization in investing in bringing in outside specialists to support recruiting, which has allowed him to scale his teams. He was also a driving force behind the consolidation of our Denver and Fort Collins offices, positioning them to be a regional powerhouse. These are just a couple of the examples of thinking big and applying best business practices to the operation of an SVN franchise. And it’s an innovation that we can all learn from.

Al Stepan is a principal of SVN | Chicago Commercial and serves as a Managing Director along with Michael Thanasouras and Scott Maesel in Chicago, IL.

The SVN blog will be featuring one SVN Specialty Award winner every week for the next few weeks. Stay up to date with SVN and CRE industry news.

SVN Specialty Awards: Prospector of the Year – Jamie Renzenbrink

Posted on April 22, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Prospector of the Year 2015 – Jamie Renzenbrink

How does one make it to the SVN Partners Circle? Some make it because they have years of contacts built up or they have a couple of deals that have been in the works for years that finally come through. But there is another way: specialization, focus, and an unparalleled work ethic of making the calls and getting it done. Jamie Renzenbrink, who specializes with Gene Levental on Affordable Housing, did the work and landed one of the biggest deals in SVN history. Her prospecting was an integral part of the overall success of our #1 firm this year, so she is our Prospector of the Year. Jamie Renzenbrink is a Senior Advisor at SVN | Affordable | Levental Realty in Cincinnati, OH.

SVN Specialty Awards: Humanitarian of the Year – Brent & Amy Miller

Posted on April 15, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Humanitarian of the Year 2015 – Brent & Amy Miller

If there was ever an office that makes community building a priority in our Shared Value Network it’s SVN | Miller. Led by Brent and Amy Miller, the group’s hard work to better their Salisbury, MD community is why we are giving them this year’s SVN Humanitarian of the Year Award. The Millers take doing well by doing good to heart and it is something that is reflected through every member of their team. We could say more, but I think that their SVN Difference video says it all. The SVN | Miller team picked up another honor at the conference, as this video won the “Best Documentary” category of our first annual SVN video awards. Check out the video below.

Brent Miller, CCIM, CPM, serves as Managing Director and Senior Advisor for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate with offices in Salisbury, Annapolis, Bethesda, Maryland; and Rehoboth/Lewes, Seaford, and Wilmington, Delaware. Miller specializes in the sale, leasing, and management of retail, office, and industrial property. With more than 27 years of commercial real estate experience, Miller has closed more than 750 transactions, resulting in a career brokerage volume in excess of $250 million.

Amy Miller, CPM, serves as Managing Director for SVN | Miller Commercial Real Estate & Property Management, Inc. in Salisbury, Maryland, where she acts as director of property management and chief financial officer. Miller has over 20 years of commercial real estate management experience.

SVN Specialty Awards: Trainer of the Year – Tomi Jo Lynch

Posted on April 8, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Trainer of the Year 2015 – Tomi Jo Lynch

Tomi Jo Lynch grew her office the old-fashioned way. She went out and spoke to people with skills who needed help to grow their businesses. She brought them in and led them to SVN’s Broker Boot Camp (now known as SVN | Jumpstart), and she built an in-office schedule of training sessions and roleplays, taking advantage of the SVN System for Growth™. She executed and, because of that, she has built a much larger and more productive office. And it all started with training.

Tomi Jo is a Senior Advisor with SVN® | Gold Dust Commercial Associates, in Reno, NV, specializing in industrial properties with a focus on landlord representation. Her responsibilities are varied and include not only brokerage services but business development as well as overseeing and managing the brokerage team. Lynch serves on the NAIOP Board of Directors and assists the Programs committee with events and recruiting.

SVN Specialty Awards: Collaborator of the Year – Tony Yousif

Posted on April 1, 2016 by SVN

Recognizing the SVN Difference with Specialty Awards

SVN Collaborator of the Year 2015 – Tony Yousif

Just being with SVN means you are a collaborator. And one could say that when you specialize in national accounts, you would naturally be a good collaborator. However, when you run your national accounts in a manner where nearly half the company writes in to nominate you, it means that you are the company’s best collaborator. As we are a company founded on collaboration both internally and externally, it’s with great pride that we present this award to Tony Yousif.

Tony Yousif serves as Senior Director of National Accounts for SVN | Asset Advisory Group specializing in the management and sale of investment properties.

SVN Annual Conference 2016: Highlights From San Diego

Posted on March 14, 2016 by SVN

My Top 4 Moments from the SVN Annual Conference

The 2016 SVN Annual Conference was easily the best reason to miss class. As a college student and the youngest member of the SVNIC team, I had the incredible opportunity to travel to San Diego, California for a three-day commercial real estate extravaganza: #SVN2016. The SVN Annual Conference, held in the Westin San Diego, proved to be the highlight of my entire year working at Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (so far). As you can probably tell, it was difficult for me to narrow down what I thought were the best parts of the event. While I’m sure everyone had a different set of high points, here are mine:

1. Kevin Maggiacomo’s Opening Address

Kevin Maggiacomo, SVNIC CEO & President.

SVNIC CEO & President Kevin Maggiacomo kicked off the conference talking about transparency, shared values and supporting women. As it always has, the commercial real estate industry currently lacks diversity, particularly in terms of including and promoting the interests of women – SVN aims to change this. As quoted in the Globe St. article about him, Maggiacomo says: “Having more successful women on our teams will make all of us more successful and generate exponential value and more profits.” Personally, as a college student interested in business, I was particularly interested in how hiring gender-inclusive talent as well as transparency across the organization (i.e., openly sharing fees with the entire brokerage community) can result in higher profits. As I better understood from Kevin’s opening speech, implementing a shared value strategy enables Advisors to have even more “meaningful conversations.” Kevin wants Advisors to strive to have five “real” conversations per day… every day. This is something that even us interns can try.

2. Advisor Headshot Session

The background: San Diego buildings and sunshine.

The 400+ SVN Advisors and staff from across the U.S., Canada, and Russia probably didn’t expect to have a professional photographer waiting for them at the hotel poolside – on the first full day of the conference. With the help of two extremely resourceful SVNIC assistants (yes, I was one of them), the photographer shot hundreds of new professional headshots for over 150 SVN Advisors and staff within that one day. Not only did dozens of SVN Advisors receive complimentary up-to-date professional headshots to help market themselves and their businesses – it was also an unexpected networking event. I met so many members of the SVN organization while helping them get ready for their photoshoots, and I’m happy to say I have 150 new friends.

3. Diane Danielson’s Business Trends Talk

Diane updates the full house of SVN Advisors.

Yes, Diane Danielson is my boss, so at the risk of sounding biased, I’ll say it anyway: she nailed it. Her talk, which focused largely on Millennials (me!) was spot-on. We want flexibility in work hours and location, a clear path for advancement, a conscious capitalist mission, but we still want to work hard. It seems like Millennials are often accused of being lazy, self-absorbed, and all around not the sort of people cut out for the corporate environment that their Silent Generation, Baby Boomer, and older Generation X parents worked hard to cultivate. In her talk, Diane shattered this stereotype about my generation by emphasizing our desire for efficiency. While the business trends discussed spanned more than just Millennial issues, this part of Diane’s speech resonated most with me because as a Millennial, I couldn’t have said it better myself. Click here to see a video of the full talk.

4. Specialty Awards

Everyone likes winning awards. If you don’t, I kind of think you’re lying. What makes the SVN Specialty Awards so wonderful is that they recognize more than just good Commercial Real Estate Advisors – they recognize good people. The awards – which included Team Player of the Year, Ambassador of the Year, Collaborator of the Year, Trainer of the Year, Humanitarian of the Year, Prospector of the Year, Innovator of the Year, and Firm of the Year – looked beyond production results and instead focused on culture. The winners of this year’s SVN Specialty Awards each embody traits that the SVN culture values immensely: practicing collaboration, cooperation and conscious capitalism while excelling in commercial real estate. Yes, numbers don’t lie. But neither do the people – all members of the SVN organization were invited to nominate individuals for the SVN Specialty Awards. This year’s winners are a group of SVN Advisors and Managing Directors who motivate and inspire me and countless others to strive for excellence in every sense of the word. In case you were curious, here are the winners:

Team Player of the Year – Steve Kawulok
Ambassador of the Year – Alex Ruggieri
Collaborator of the Year – Tony Yousif
Trainer of the Year – Tomi Jo Lynch
Humanitarian of the Year – Brent & Amy Miller
Prospector of the Year – Jamie Renzenbrink
Innovator of the Year – Al Stepan
Firm of the Year – SVN | Northco

There you have it – my top highlights from the 2016 SVN Annual Conference. I’m sorry, professors – the experience I gained from my three days outside of class was worth its weight in California gold.

For other SVN Annual Conference news, check out the SVN Blog for additional content.

[bctt tweet=”I’m sorry, professors – the experience I gained from my three days outside of class was worth it. #SVN2016 #CRE”]

Sperry Van Ness International Corp. Names 2012 Top Brokers, Offices

Posted on March 14, 2013 by SVN

Sperry Van Ness International Corporation (SVNIC) recently announced the recipients of the company’s top awards for 2012, spanning achievements among individual brokers and offices across the country. The awards were given out at the SVNIC annual sales conference in Miami, Fla. that was held Feb. 6-8, 2013.

The prestigious Partners’ Circle Awards were given to Sperry Van Ness^® advisors who celebrated a gross annual commission income of $500,000 or more. Also among the top commission earners were the designated Achievers, who had the highest production numbers for 2012. Many of these same advisors helped their offices make it into SVNIC’s Top 20 Offices for 2012. Click here for full list.

The following individual awards were also handed out at the conference:

Firm of the Year: Sperry Van Ness/Miller Commercial Real Estate, Salisbury, Md.
Collaborator of the Year: Sperry Van Ness, LLC, Chicago
Ambassador of the Year: Curt Arthur, Sperry Van NessCommercial Advisors, LLC, Salem, Ore.
Humanitarian of the Year: Walter Helm, Sperry Van Ness/ Walter Helm, Sacramento, Calif.
Rookie of the Year: Jennifer Donathan, Sperry Van Ness/Commercial Real Estate (Barton W. Weprin) Liberty Township, Ohio
Prospector of the Year: Tony Yousif, Sperry Van Ness/Finest City Commercial, San Diego, Calif.
Team Player of the Year: John Rickert, Sperry Van Ness^/RICORE Investment Management, Inc.,Cincinnati, Ohio
Innovator of the Year: Ryan Imbrie, Sperry Van Ness/Imbrie Realty, LLC, Portland, Ore.
Trainer of the Year: Mark Alexander, Sperry Van Ness(Mark Alexander), Fort. Myers, Fla.

Among that group of winners is Walter Helm (Humanitarian of the Year) who is not only a broker – but also a volunteer firefighter and volunteer pilot for the free medical flight group AirLifeLine. Mark Alexander (Trainer of the Year) volunteers his time to SVNIC’s Product Council on Medical Offices, sharing his expertise on the property sector with other franchisees. The Sperry Van Ness LLC office in Chicago was named Collaborator of the Year for working to promote cooperation among advisors – a key tenet of the SVNIC mission. In 2012, Sperry Van Ness LLC brought the largest number of new and recent closings to the company’s Monday National Sales Calls Program – which markets properties to brokers nationwide – regardless of their company affiliation.

“In the crowded commercial real estate field, Sperry Van Ness advisors stand apart,” said President and CEO Kevin Maggiacomo. “Through innovation and collaboration, these outstanding brokers and offices are providing the best service to their customers, and are setting the bar high for our field in 2013.”

*All Sperry Van Ness® offices are independently owned and operated.