Just reported by The Real Deal. His contract was up I believe, but the wording from Riguardi makes it seem less than amicable.
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Wow, This Peter guy seems like a d*ck. Bob is far from an a-hole, but I get he is his own brand. Not sure if cross selling was harder to do at JLL.
Any ideas on next steps for 'ole Bobby? Maybe him and Darcy team up??
Yeah Peter seems like a corporate shill - JLL first, clients second, individual third is crazy. Shows what the culture is like at JLL that they openly say they're above top executives instead of working with them (even though we all know it's true) and the fact they say they let Bob go definitely a way to make him look bad.
...shill?
Thanks lol, corrected it.
HFF / JLL is all about putting people in boxes or what they would call “specialization”. I bet Bob butted heads with the institutional sales pros over there all the time since he was supposed to be the middle markets guy.
I don't know much about Bob Knakal here in SF, but I did get hit with his LinkedIn posts all the time in his map room and his marketing antics. I can't imagine JLL liked him blasting social media constantly. That's not the culture of JLL. He really came off as someone selling snake oil.
Idk I think more and more decision makers are on social media constantly. All of guys under 35 are looking at traded 247. I think the Eastdil way of keeping everything private is slowly on the way out. Being front of mind as a broker is incredibly important, and social media does that for him.
It was saying JLL is trying to make it about firm first, clients second, and broker third (so taking away broker identity to more a brand). It also said they didn't seem to like his recent NY Times article and was doing the opposite of that making it broker first (which in reality is the way it should be, people are loyal to a broker if they know them well not a brand) so we'll see how it works out.
Traded is mostly middle market stuff. Institutional real estate is a different world. Do you think decision makers at GIC, Adia or KIC are looking at Traded?
I think it’s the opposite. I work for an institutional owner and we do not allow brokers to publish our name when marketing closed transactions.
CRE Brokerage is trying to model after the investment banks. More and more of them are focusing on “one-firm”.
I used to work in CRE brokerage btw so not truly speaking from the “outside”
I respect what he did going out and having success on his own for a long time, and I’m sure he’s a great guy; but I agree as another out of market guy. The social media didn’t rub me the right way.
This is fair. As a NYC cap markets broker, seeing the middle market NYC sales GOAT provide his tips all over social media out of nowhere is pretty amazing. He’s incredibly well respected here, which is why, to us, it doesn’t feel that “gimmicky”, even if it is a sales tool. However I could see why JLL leadership thinks otherwise.
He's a broker. Of course he was selling snake oil.
cmon Ozy, hes a legend. BK does not need to sell snake oil
Yeah because buying Class C apartments, slapping on some paint, and raising rents 30% is such a noble pursuit.
Everyone in this industry is chiefly focused on making money. Very few were as good at that as Bob.
There's an interview where he says he never buys CRE. Doesn't want a conflict of interest or any clients asking him "if its a good deal, why don't you buy that?" I've never met him but I wish other brokers were that upstanding.
I'm from the Bay too, but Bob's a legend in NYC. My friend's family owns a few buildings over there and every interaction they've had with him has been stellar. Couple younger folks I know have talked to him and said nothing but positive things.
I think the old way of keeping everything private is fading out. Social Media is the new wave and RE is filled with boomers.
I never thought Bob fit into JLL since he’s super vocal compared to other brokers there. A lot of the institutional guys move quietly but for private capital you gotta be out there like Bob is. A lot of things he preaches goes against how JLL is trying to position themselves. It’s also at odds with how a lot of the rainmakers and management who came over from HFF do things. Kind of hoping he links back up with Massey since B6 is falling apart.
That statement from JLL is absolutely awful. Airing out your top producer for marketing himself shows a fundamental lack of common sense and rings of jealousy. Whatever douche bag wrote and released that statement has almost surely achieved a fraction of Bob’s success. Clients hire people, not firms, and having visibility in the market is how you win business. Idiotic from JLL, would never work there after seeing that statement.
What if I told you Ole Bob wasn’t all that profitable
Can you say more about this?
Lot’s of clients hire firms over people. I might even dare to say that’s increasingly where the brokerage industry is headed. On the leasing side, there’s a reason the largest occupiers of space have global agreements with certain firms. They want all of the different services and resources they offer, not just “I really like that one guy I met there.”
I second this. I have my own shop and have confirmed with many of my friends who are the decision makers at their Fortune 500 companies. They want to deal with a national presence and will be a one stop shop.
Considering how his departure from Cushman went down, it's not a reach to imagine a similar case happening here. Costly conflicts of interest are always possible.
I'm not a commercial broker so I can't speak to this, but is it actually worthwhile for the Knakals or Stacoms of the world to be at big name firms? At least on the residential side, it seems as though once your personal brand and connections are vast enough, that seems to carry more weight than the firm name on the door (Serhant, Altman, etc). Do the institutional clients have requirements that a CBRE, JLL or Cushman type firm represent them?
Why did he get let go from Cushman? Surprised even they didn't say they parted amicably or whatever people do to make both sides look good.
The disconnect on Twitter from the reality of institutional real estate is humorous. So much outrage against JLL yet this is a blip for them in the grand scheme of things. Institutions will still go with JLL, CBRE, C&W, etc. when it is all said and done.
The (insert city of <500K) brokers were up in arms on twitter about the guy who’s sold $20B in NYC real estate and acting like JLL was going to go under tomorrow. I’m sure he appreciates the sympathy but I have a feeling Bob Knakal will land on his feet and JLL will be just fine lol
I dont know who Bob is but saw people on X complaining how JLL treated him, so screw JLL
Bob deserved to be fired. He put himself above his company. When you work for a Company, the Company always comes first.
Bob thought he was bigger then JLL and JLL showed him and all the other brokers how easy it is to fire someone.
He should run his own platform again.
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