Even David Nelson is a bit confused about the path that led him from a desire to be an art professor to leading a commercial real estate firm in one of the nation's priciest markets.
Recently named regional president for privately held brokerage Kidder Mathews, Nelson's circuitous career path has led him to a role that is not only responsible for overseeing all the firm's offices throughout Northern California and Nevada — there are six, many of which are concentrated in and around the Bay Area — but also strengthening Seattle-based Kidder Mathews' brand in a realm dominated by publicly traded commercial real estate giants.
So how did an art history and photography major end up helping to lead one of the West Coast's largest independent commercial real estate firms?
"Boy, not even I can explain it," Nelson, who was born and raised in the Bay Area.
Nelson, who grew up in a Silicon Valley suburb and has lived in the city since he was 18, said his first view into the city's real estate market came through his work as a web developer for a property syndicator, a type of firm that finds, acquires and manages real estate, in the early 2000s, right after San Francisco had gone through the dot-com boom and bust.
"At first I thought I'd be a professor, that was the goal," he said. "But when I was hand-coding websites I met a guy looking for a web developer who happened to be a real estate syndicator."
With that introduction, and after a period of struggling with the idea of ditching his art professor dreams and diving into the world of deal making and negotiating, he got his broker's license and an interview with Marcus & Millichap.
"I had never even heard of them before, but that wasn't because the company wasn't well known, it was just that I hadn't been paying attention," the San Francisco State University and Stanford graduate said. "I didn't know it was formal and I had to dress up or anything, so I probably showed up to that interview in Vans with a big head of crazy hair. I have no idea how, but I got the job and started in 2005 as a multifamily broker in the city. I never really looked back."
With 20 offices in California, Washington, Oregon, Nevada and Arizona, Kidder Mathews is significantly smaller than the likes of CBRE, Cushman & Wakefield or even Nelson's former employer. And while he wasn't out hunting for the job, the new regional president said it presents a compelling challenge that provides the chance to not only grow professionally, but also help grow the firm.
So while Kidder Mathew's dominance in the Pacific Northwest area helps it go toe-to-toe with some of its larger competitors, in the Bay Area, Nelson said he knows he has his work cut out for him.
"In the Bay Area we may be a little less known, but that's the challenge I found interesting," Nelson said.
He adds that the firm's culture, growth trajectory and nimbleness were among the most appealing factors drawing him to his new job.
"The Bay Area has been the missing piece in the middle of the firm's business in the Pacific Northwest and Southern California markets, and while it is fairly well known in the leasing world, it isn't on the investment sales side," he said. "So my strategy will be to get more exposure, leverage some of our Pacific Northwest relationships and get more assignments here in the Bay Area."