Chris Strickfaden

Managing Director

Jones Lang LaSalle, El Segundo office

Cheers:

I love great red wine. I love Italian and French wines. I can’t afford to drink it every night, but if I had my ideal winding-down thing it would be to pop a Brunello, hang with my wife and have a fire in the fireplace.

Like Father :

I’m trying to convert my daughter into a runner. She does the local 5k or 10k run with me. My wife’s an artist, so it’s up to me to pass on the athletics.

The Business Journal occasionally checks in with L.A. executives and asks them to describe their day. This week Chris Strickfaden, managing director of real estate and investment management company Jones Lang LaSalle, walks us through his schedule.

I usually start around 5:45 a.m. I’m a fanatical runner, so I run about four to seven miles in the morning on the boardwalk near Manhattan Beach. Then I usually drop off my little ones at their elementary school by 7:45 a.m. I have a daughter, 9, and a 6-year-old son. I probably drink a half-gallon of coffee and I’m in the office by 8 a.m.

My job is to represent a lot of landlords in the South Bay. I’m usually on my cell phone with people in the East because I’m working on a myriad of agency and landlord projects. In between all that I represent tenants.

It’s a combination of making phone calls and preparing analytical spreadsheets for clients who won’t understand the ramifications of certain deals. I work with a team of market techs and property managers. The energy is great. There’s a lot of creativity. I’ve been here for about two months and the best part is the energy.

For lunch, if I can do it, I will sneak away to the Spectrum Club. The gym is right next door to my office building. If I can sneak away for a light lunch or a workout, I’ll do that usually between noon and 1 p.m. I usually stay close to work during the day. I don’t try to do too much extracurricular stuff. I don’t want to be away from my cell phone. It’s pretty much attached to my ear at this point.

In the afternoon, it’s a procession of phone calls and conferences with clients. When I have a free moment, I’ll return a call from a prospective owner and a candidate who needs space. It’s sort of all bundled, the things we do all day long.

I think the thing that blows me away is that Patti, my assistant, is like a Radar O’Reilly from the “Mash” TV show. Before I ask her something, she’s in my office. I’m constantly surprised by her creativity. At my previous firm, I was running my own deal by myself. Now I am part of a larger team.

In the early evening, I play tennis at least two times a week. Then it’s on to dinner and bath time.

By 6, it’s dinnertime and homework. I tell my children to go to bed by 8:30 p.m.

I’m usually on the computer until 10:30 p.m.

I also do for pro bono work. I’ve been a co-chairman of the Los Angeles Broker Challenge for the last 10 years. We have been putting on the Broker Challenge in Santa Monica for 20 years. It’s where 300 brokers from across the city get together for a sports day at the beach. There’s also a dinner and auction at night. We raise $1.5 million for family services in Santa Monica. That feeds my altruistic side.