Gregory Lewis brings lessons from his retail career to property management
After a business boom settles down, what’s next for those in the industry? For Gregory Lewis, Group Operations Manager at JLL, it meant a shift from retail into a new and successful career in real estate.
Always a people person, Greg worked in technology-related retail part-time while in school, then continued full-time with the company in the early 2000s, the height of the personal tech boom.
“I enjoyed interacting with people and the retail environment,” he recalled. “Wireless was an emerging technology — people who never had cell phones before were getting them.”
Over time, Greg rose to become a Senior Analyst, overseeing merchandising, facilities and retail operations for about 400 retail locations in the Western region.
“I worked with the store managers, district managers and retail directors, making sure they were happy and set up for success, while ensuring their stores could operate efficiently and to our national standards,” he said.
But by 2015, the tech market was stagnating and his company reorganized and eliminated several departments, including Greg’s. An assessment of his own skills showed that commercial property management was a natural segue.
He initially managed an industrial portfolio, while also earning a real estate license. After several years, he found an opportunity with JLL on LinkedIn that brought him back to retail.
“I thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be great if I could manage retail, something I’d worked in my whole career and do it as a property manager?’” he said. “I applied and was accepted, and that’s where my JLL career started.”
In his retail career, he often interacted with property managers, requesting facilities and leasing assistance for his locations, giving him a unique perspective now that he’s on the other side of the desk.
“I was basically the tenant interacting with the management, and then I became the management team interacting with the tenants,” he said. “That experience was very similar. It's just in reverse.”
Greg moved laterally at first to an Assistant Property Manager at JLL, but his responsibilities grew rapidly. At first managing five properties, his portfolio increased quickly when a colleague went on maternity leave, and he took on her responsibilities. A few months later, another property manager left the company, and Greg took on those properties while the company went through the hiring process. But that increased workload in time led to a new role.
“For about three or four months, I was covering a lot with the assistance of my regional manager,” he said. “Meanwhile, a client I was covering acquired a new property in San Francisco, and the operations team was brought in to assist.”
As a result, Greg met Barry Wood, Executive Vice President and Director of Operations, who quickly became a mentor and is now his boss. The new property, a 470,000-square-foot medical office building, had multiple issues that had to be documented and resolved so it could be vacated and redeveloped into a mixed-use complex.
“I think Barry saw my potential in how I helped manage this project and offered me this role,” he said. As a Group Operations Manager, he now is involved with approximately 200 retail properties, dealing with vendors to facilitate repairs, reviewing contracts, tracking projects and more. But really, his job is about helping the property managers and their clients achieve their goals.
From his previous work, Greg has an empathy for the retail store manager’s challenges, whether it’s an item to be fixed — or helping a tenant deal with a neighboring retailer’s activities which could be negatively impacting their business.
“You want to help them reach their goals. And you get excited when a retailer you know is moving into one of your managed properties,” he adds.
His days typically begin with reviewing emails from JLL leadership and clients, then from property managers and vice presidents he supports. They could be asking for assistance in finding a vendor, reviewing contracts, getting bids for projects, property visits to meet clients, property managers and vendors or any number of items.
“I wear many hats in this role, and solving problems brings an opportunity to learn something new, while delivering results,” he says.
“Many times, properties that are new to JLL have a number of problems, possibly including deferred maintenance or vendors that came with the property and are not performing to our standards,” he describes. “In that situation you may have to make many operational changes to that property all at once. It can be a lot for a property management team to do, so I often come in and help them get through that.”
Typically, the newly acquired property is running more smoothly and efficiently in six months or less, resulting in happier clients and tenants.
“This is especially important in showing our clients the value JLL brings when choosing us to manage their retail property. They may not have policies or procedures in place, so you have to figure things out as you go,” he said. “That’s where our experience comes in. Or we may have a policy for a certain situation that we can communicate to that property owner/client.”
Outside the office Greg, a San Francisco Bay Area native, and his girlfriend spent time in the great outdoors, mountain biking and hiking. But retail also is its own kind of thrill.
“Having retail tenants is exciting because you also shop there as a customer,” he says. “And to interact with them on a tenant/landlord basis is fulfilling and rewarding because you are helping those retail businesses be successful behind the scenes.”
