Rookie Broker Delivering Big At Studley’s Downtown Office
By David Greenberg
Staff Reporter
A born and bred Chicagoan, Brian Fennelly grew up rooting for both the Cubs and the White Sox because he liked to be flexible.
But as an assistant director at the L.A. office of tenant rep Julien J. Studley Inc., he leaves that flexibility at home.
In his first full year in real estate, Fennelly led a three-broker team that closed deals on 553,000 square feet of space with an aggregate value of $62 million good enough to be recognized by the Business Journal as the year’s top rookie broker.
Clients and colleagues said Fennelly has no magic wand for success, but rather an impassioned desire to succeed and a solid business background.
Prior to joining Studley in October 2000, Fennelly, 38, worked for years as a tax associate at PricewaterhouseCoopers and Andersen, designing and implementing proprietary tax software for Fortune 500 companies. He also developed merger and acquisition strategies for private businesses at Mid-Atlantic Cos.
When Mid-Atlantic was bought by First Union Corp. in July 2000, Fennelly believed the conglomerate was too bureaucratic for him to be creative. So he packed his bags and moved to L.A. to begin his real estate career.
He lives two blocks from his downtown L.A. office, enabling him to be at the gym by 5 a.m. and start his 13-plus-hour workday at 6 a.m. There he’ll track tenants, identify available properties, determe their leasing value and set up meetings with prospective clients.
Rookie of the Year
Player: Brian Fennelly, Assistant Director, Julien J.
Studley Inc.
Background: Chicago native who spent four years in the Navy; graduated from University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, 1991 with B.A. in economics; marketed corporate tax software for PricewaterhouseCoopers and Andersen; developed merger and acquisition strategies for private firms at Mid-Atlantic Cos. before joining Studley in October 2000.
The Deals: While closing deals for 50,000 square feet worth is a good first year for most office brokers, the Fennelly-led team secured 553,000 square feet in deals worth $62 million during his rookie year.
