Grubb & Ellis Company Announces Top Producers for 2009 at Annual Circle of Excellence Awards

SANTA ANA, Calif., April 21 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE), a leading real estate services and investment firm, today announced that Bruce McNair, executive vice president, Office Group, of the company's Washington, D.C., office was the company's No. 1 producer and top Office Group professional for 2009.

McNair received both honors at Grubb & Ellis' Circle of Excellence Awards.  The annual event, which was held in Scottsdale, Ariz., April 13-15, recognized Grubb & Ellis' top producers.

"Grubb & Ellis' goal is to be the best.  That means recruiting and retaining the industry's top talent, who succeed by consistently providing the highest level of service to clients," said Jack Van Berkel, chief operating officer and president, Real Estate Services.  "Each of the individuals honored at Circle of Excellence continue to set the example for how professionals who value teamwork, possess deep market knowledge and develop innovative real estate strategies can result in the best possible service for our clients.  We're proud to recognize them for their accomplishments."  

McNair joined Grubb & Ellis in 2006 and has more than 25 years of experience in the commercial real estate industry.  He has qualified for Grubb & Ellis' Circle of Excellence since he joined the company, and was the No. 1 Producer in the Washington D.C. region in both 2008 and 2009.  Throughout his career, McNair has excelled in representing public and private companies with their  leasing needs, and has completed transactions valued in excess of $1 billion.

Additional producers taking the top honors in their respective specialty were: Steve Monroe, Retail, Chicago; Rob Stillwell, Industrial, Houston; Philip Giunta, Investment, Boston; Chad Galayda, Land, Chicago; Dana Brody, Multi Housing, San Francisco; and Bryan Johnson, Affiliate Broker of the Year, Grubb & Ellis|The Winbury Group, Kansas City, Mo.

The Company's Top 20 Transaction Services honorees were:

1. McNair
2. Jay Stewart, Office Group, Chicago
3. Lawrence FitzGerald, Office Group, Tysons Corner
4. Kurt Stout, Government Services Group, Washington, D.C.
5. Keith Lavey, Government Services Group, Washington, D.C.
6. Charles Dilks, Government Services Group, Washington, D.C.
7. Tom Tunnicliff, Office Group, Chicago
8. Monroe
9. Stillwell
10. Matt Mulvihill, Industrial Group, Chicago
11. Ted Parris, Retail Group, Chicago
12. Will Travis, Office Group, Washington, D.C.
13. Tom Miller, Office Group, Atlanta
14. Terry Coyne, Industrial Group, Cleveland
15. Giunta
16. John Jensen, Office Group, San Francisco
17. Andrew Klaff, Office Group, Tysons Corner
18. Kay Davis, Tenant Advisory Group, Atlanta
19. Bradford Spencer, Industrial Group, Boston
20. Steve Morgan, Office Group, Atlanta

To qualify for Circle of Excellence, brokers must fulfill the highest production standards set by the company, which typically results in honoring the top 5 to 8 percent of all company professionals.

The company's Chicago office was recognized as Office of the Year.  Also honored at the Circle of Excellence were three brokerage sales professionals who have excelled over the past year and embody the characteristics the company values most.

Brett Diamond, senior vice president, Tenant Advisory Group, Washington, D.C., was nominated by his brokerage peers to receive the Spirit of Grubb & Ellis Award.  The award recognizes Diamond's success in utilizing Grubb & Ellis' national platform to support his clients with their multi-market needs.  Diamond, who has more than 23 years of commercial real estate experience, joined Grubb & Ellis in 2006.  Throughout his career, he has closed more than 5 million square feet of transactions, providing a broad spectrum of services including tenant representation and investment sales.

The company's Enterprise Selling Award, which recognizes an outstanding individual with success in driving efforts to secure business in multiple markets and business lines, was presented to Julian Pinner, executive vice president and managing director, Corporate Services.  Pinner, who joined Grubb & Ellis in 2005, leads the company's Client Development group, which drives growth, quality control and oversight of multi-market relationships.  Some of Pinner's largest clients include Royal Bank of Scotland and Ingersoll Rand.

Joseph Swingle, executive vice president and managing director, New York, received the Hal Ellis Award, named for the company's founder Hal Ellis, who passed away in 2009.  The award recognizes the individual who exemplifies the attributes that Ellis himself most valued – professional excellence, leadership and high ethical standards.  Swingle joined Grubb & Ellis in 1988 and served in a variety of facilities management positions, where he was ultimately responsible for supporting more than a dozen significant clients occupying in excess of 100 million square feet of property.  In 2010, Swingle was named executive vice president and managing director of the company's New York office.

About Grubb & Ellis Company

Grubb & Ellis Company (NYSE: GBE) is one of the largest and most respected commercial real estate services and investment companies in the world. Our 6,500 professionals in more than 100 company-owned and affiliate offices draw from a unique platform of real estate services, practice groups and investment products to deliver comprehensive, integrated solutions to real estate owners, tenants and investors. The firm's transaction, management, consulting and investment services are supported by highly regarded proprietary market research and extensive local expertise. Through its investment subsidiaries, the company is a leading sponsor of real estate investment programs that provide individuals and institutions the opportunity to invest in a broad range of real estate investment vehicles, including public non-traded real estate investment trusts (REITs), mutual funds and other real estate investment funds. For more information, visit www.grubb-ellis.com.

SOURCE Grubb & Ellis Company