PTK spotlight: Arizona capital markets brokers to know in 2024

Jim Fijan

Executive managing partner

Transwestern

As Executive Managing Partner, Fijan has a capital markets focus while supporting landlord leasing services, sourcing opportunities in office, land, build-to-suit and development. He uses his deep relationships in the institutional space to pair capital with operating groups. Fijan also works closely with Transwestern’s Phoenix City Leader to expand the firm’s brand, grow all service lines, recruit rising talent and enhance client service.

No. 1 on the bucket list: “My current bucket list has pretty much been fulfilled so I’m searching for new additions. Space travel would have to be there only because it’s something that seemed improbable a short time ago but is most likely something I can achieve in my lifetime.”

Barry Gabel

Executive managing director

Newmark

Spanning four decades, Gabel’s commercial real estate experience in Arizona most recently brought him to Newmark in 2023. In his role as executive managing director, he spends his time identifying opportunities, executing client strategy, establishing relationships between parties and coordinating financial analyses and due diligence. In his tenure as a capital markets broker, Gabel has completed more than 500 transactions totaling more than 40.4 million square feet and more than $8 billion in value.

Biggest career accomplishment: “Having the distinguished honor of mentoring hundreds of people over the course of my 40-year real estate career.” 

Surprising fact: “I am a Phoenix native and have lived in Arizona my entire life.” 

Greer Oliver

Senior director, Phoenix JLL Capital Markets Industrial Sales Advisory Team

JLL

Prior to joining JLL in 2022, Oliver held a director position at Cushman & Wakefield working with Phoenix’s National Industrial Advisory Group. In the past four years, she was involved in the sale of more than 130 transactions, totaling over 63 million square feet with an overall value in excess of $6.9 billion. 

Biggest career accomplishment: “It is not so much an accomplishment (yet); however, it was a big move: Myself and another individual from C&W, had the confidence to leave the number one industrial investment sales team in Phoenix to go out on our own.”

John Smeck

Senior vice president

Colliers in Arizona

Having provided debt and equity for well over $2 billion in commercial transactions, clients rely on Smeck to develop the optimal capital structure for commercial real estate assets; locate the most competitive debt and/or sources for that structure and negotiate the best terms and structure for the transaction. 

Stand-out fact: Smeck led the Arizona office in sourcing, underwriting, closing and servicing debt and equity placement transactions for commercial real estate assets on behalf of institutional investors and owners of multifamily, retail, office, industrial and hospitality properties. Production exceeded $2 billion in total capitalization.

Will Strong

Executive vice chair

Cushman & Wakefield

Strong has been involved in the sale, financing and leasing of more than 95 million square feet valued in excess of $12 billion and has completed some of the highest profile and complicated deals in the region. He was named the youngest executive vice chair ever at Cushman & Wakefield and leads his region for the National Industrial Advisory Group (IAG) — C&W’s national institutional industrial investment sales team — as well as co-leads the entire group in the Americas. 

No. 1 on the commercial real estate bucket list: “I enjoy building long-term relationships with our clients and being a fundamental resource to them. Our team currently dominates 84% market share of the industrial investment sale transactions in Arizona. I would love to further help our clients and see our business continue to grow, not only in Arizona but in the other regions we cover.”