RETS Associates Opens New Office in Denver

September 14, 2018 – RETS Associates has opened a new office in downtown Denver. Having dedicated office space in Colorado’s capital city will enable the firm to best serve new and existing clients’ growing demand for real estate talent in the region, said the firm.

Joining the new office is Jessica MacNaughton, who recently started at the firm as a director. She brings nearly two decades of experience in commercial real estate brokerage, business development, marketing and research. Ms. MacNaughton spent the last five years at CBRE, a commercial real estate services firm, where she served as regional director of marketing and research publications for the Americas. In her new role, she will focus on recruiting for positions from associates to mid- and senior-level management covering commercial real estate, development, architecture, engineering and construction.

Joining her is Berkeley Davis, a seasoned RETS recruiter and managing director. She relocates to Denver from RETS’ Seattle office. Ms. Davis started her career in 2000 at a boutique firm, performing a variety of functions in asset and property management, leasing, acquisitions and more. She later worked at the Irvine Company and the Bixby Land Company.

Lastly, principal Jana Turner will divide her time between RETS’ Denver office and the firm’s headquarters in Newport Beach, CA. Ms. Turner is a commercial real estate veteran with more than 30 years of experience in the services sector.

Denver Real Estate Talent

The new office puts the national real estate recruiting firm at the epicenter of the seventh most attractive market in the western hemisphere for real estate investment, according to a recent report from CBRE. “RETS has invested nearly 10 years serving Denver-area real estate firms with strategic recruiting solutions and our new office reflects our ongoing commitment to serve the growing market,” said Kent Elliott, principal with RETS Associates. “There’s a high demand for talent in Denver, creating a greater need than ever before for real estate and development companies to rely on professional talent acquisition support and we want to be their partner of choice.”

RETS said that its full-service recruiting solutions and industry experience allow the firm to play an integral role as a key partner in the economic growth of Denver. The metro area’s economy is bolstered by a steady increase in population and job opportunities, above-average GDP growth and an influx of new talent and companies.

Founded in 2002, RETS Associates specializes in the recruitment, staffing and placement of executive, permanent and interim positions in the commercial and residential real estate industries, as well as land development. RETS Associates’ clients include REITs, developers, investors, pension fund advisors, operating companies and real estate services firms doing business in property management, development, construction, investments and financial analysis. RETS also has offices in Los Angeles, San Francisco, Silicon Valley, Seattle, Charlotte and Chicago. It has also expanded its search activity along the east coast with dedicated service to markets in New York, Florida and Washington, D.C.

Booming Denver Market

Denver remains America’s fastest growing city, according to recent U.S. Census Bureau estimates. The city ranked No.1 on Forbes magazine’s list of the Best Places for Business and Careers, making it a natural landing spot for growth among executive search firms. Here’s a look at some recent growth activity in Denver among search firms from the Hunt Scanlon Media archives.

Odgers Berndtson has opened a new office in Denver. “Denver is one of the fastest growing cities in the country,” said Steve Potter, CEO of Odgers Berndtson U.S. “Tech employment in Denver is up 74 percent since 2010, and it’s also got significant presence in energy, advanced manufacturing, aerospace and bioscience, among others. We look forward to making an impact in Colorado.”

El Segundo, CA-based executive search firm Century Group has opened a new office in Denver. Managing director Peter Nelson will lead the firm’s efforts in the region. “We have been identifying new locales for expansion,” said Ron Proul, CEO. “Denver is one of those that allow the group concept to service the region’s clients in the same way we have excelled in other markets.”

Plano, TX-based executive search firm Top Gun Ventures has opened a new office in Denver with the addition of Laura Marriott as partner. This is the firm’s eighth location. Ms. Marriott has expertise in the private, public and non-profit sectors globally. She previously ran her own strategy consulting firm focused on mobile tech companies. 

McDermott & Bull has acquired Denver-based Prime-Core Executive Search. Ken Dropiewski, as a result, joins the firm as a principal consultant in the sciences group, specializing in the med-tech space. “The addition of Ken to our firm is a huge win for McDermott & Bull,” said CEO Rod McDermott.

The Hennessy Group has expanded in Denver with the addition of HR veteran Edward Herpel as vice president. He focuses will be on search project management as well as business development in the pharmaceutical / biopharmaceutical sector and other selected industry sectors in life sciences.

Kingsley Gate Partners named Geoff Hall as a new partner to support the firm’s growing life sciences practice in its recently opened Denver office. The Denver metropolitan area is home to a large number of bio tech, pharma and life sciences companies. Among them: ARCA Biopharma, ClearSight, MBC Pharma, SixOne Solutions, Compass Biotechnology.

Contributed by Scott A. Scanlon, Editor-in-Chief; Dale M. Zupsansky, Managing Editor; Stephen Sawicki, Managing Editor; and Andrew W. Mitchell, Managing Editor – Hunt Scanlon Media