Name: Gerald A. Porter

Company: Metrospace

Age: 48

Specialty: Brokerage and related commercial real estate services

Recent Deal: Negotiated lease of a new Santa Monica headquarters for software firm CyberMedia.

Metrospace founder Jerry Porter’s corporate, suit-and-tie style stands in contrast to the more casual dress of movie folk.

But don’t let appearances fool you. Porter snared the coveted leasing account for DreamWorks SKG, the fledgling studio that has been busy snapping up office and industrial space while its planned new campus in Playa Vista has been mired in financial difficulties.

A self-described technophile, Porter says his people skills help bridge the gap between the “suits” and “jeans” in L.A.’s business world.

“I believe in relationships, as everyone does in this business,” says Porter, who is doing his best to turn what he sees as a traditionally “transaction-oriented” business into one of long-term relationships.

His focus on relationships is not surprising Porter was a psychology major at Stanford University. He also earned an MBA at UCLA’s John Anderson School of Management.

Porter spent eight years as manager of a furniture manufacturer before starting in commercial real estate as a tenant services representative 17 years ago. He struck out on his own by starting Brentwood-based Metrospace in 1983.

Porter is active in a number of industry organizations. He is the current vice chairman of the Los Angeles Commercial Real Estate Association, where he has been elected to four consecutive terms. He is also active in the Building Owners and Managers Association.

Bob Howard