Jim Kruse, the former chief executive of El Segundo-based DPI Retail, has been named regional president of greater L.A. at brokerage Kidder Mathews where he has plans to scale up the company’s pool of brokers.
In his new role, which he began mid-March, Kruse oversees Kidder Mathews’ L.A. offices including downtown, Century City, El Segundo and Pasadena.

“I enjoy the brokerage business tremendously,” Kruse said. “I like being able to build business units and I like seeing people grow versus overseeing a portfolio. I kind of like the living, breathing business unit, a group of people out providing services. For me, it’s really enjoyable.”
Kruse has more than 35 years of experience in commercial real estate.

Most recently, he was the chief executive at DPI Retail. The company, which was founded in 1972, focuses on retail centers in the Western U.S.
For 15 years prior, Kruse was a senior managing director for CBRE Group Inc.’s L.A. offices.
Prior to that, he served as executive vice president for Grubb & Ellis’ greater L.A. office. Grubb & Ellis is now part of Newmark Group Inc.

Kruse, a lifelong L.A. resident, has also held a stint as a broker at Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
He is also known for water polo, having been a member of the U.S. National and Olympic water polo teams.

“The consistent pattern of success throughout Jim’s career speaks for itself, and we’re very fortunate to have him join us,” Bill Frame, chief executive of Kidder Mathews, said in a statement. “His outstanding background, drive and positive personality are a perfect fit for our broker/client-centric culture, and to lead our L.A. growth.”

Kruse said he is hoping to grow the number of brokers at Kidder Mathews by 25% across L.A. this year.
“I want to continue to build the Los Angeles business for Kidder Mathews, attracting top real estate professionals and being able to provide the services for our clients. But I can sum up our business plan in one word and that’s growth,” Kruse said.