The day after veteran New York City dealmaker Bob Knakal left JLL, he headed to Atlanta to offer career advice, eat a piece of cake with his image on it and sign autographs.
Knakal was the headline attraction at a Contractors, Closers & Connections, or CCC, event at Blue Martini in Buckhead on Thursday. When he took the stage, he addressed his sudden departure Wednesday from JLL head on, though he was tight-lipped when CoStar News asked him for the scoop on his next move.
"I’m Bob Knakal, and I’m unemployed," he said, prompting laughter in the crowd of more than 600 people. "Everybody wants me I know what I’m going to do next. I’m going to have fun."
CCC touted the event and appearance by Knakal by saying it marked the first "time he’s addressed a live audience of Commercial Real Estate professionals in Atlanta." The group cited some of Knakal's sales stats during the event.
"Knakal has been responsible for deals in 2,252 buildings and over $21 billion in sales, "generally considered to be the highest total ever for a single broker in New York," according to the summary on his LinkedIn profile.
During his speech, an upbeat Knakal offered advice to commercial property pros.
"Our business is not real estate," Knakal said. "It’s information, and it's relationships. Meeting people face to face."
He said he has a goal to attend 261 networking events, or one per working day, each year.
Before taking the stage, Knakal welcomed a receiving line of attendees eager to meet him and get his autograph on oversized baseball cards with his career stats.
They also got a close-up view of a cake with his image on it from back in the day on it when he wore his hair long. Wearing designer sneakers with his suit and tie, a relaxed Knakal took his position standing behind the table with his cake and began greeting attendees.
"He's the Taylor Swift of commercial real estate," one well-known Atlanta broker, who asked not to be identified because he works for a competitor of JLL, said as people clamored to get to Knakal.
As for the cards, Knakal said they'll soon be collector's items. It's the "last time I’ll be signing JLL baseball cards," he said. "Come and get them."