AZRE magazine sat down with eight NAIOP Arizona members to learn more about their relationship to the association, how they’ve grown their careers from getting involved, the benefits of networking with competitors and what trends they’re seeing in the market. Responses have been edited for clarity and length. Meet John Orsak, executive vice president, Lincoln Property Company.

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John Orsak, executive vice president, Lincoln Property Company

AZRE: When did you start participating in NAIOP?

John Orsak: I moved to Arizona in 2006, and it was shortly after that I became involved with NAIOP. From that point on, I’ve always stayed close to the organization, even when I’ve transitioned to other firms. I’ve sat on the membership, public policy, Night at the Fights and Thursday Night Live committees, then was asked to join the executive committee. 

In 2024, I served as the chairman, which was an incredible capstone achievement. This is my last year on the board before I go back to being a member at large, which is unfortunate because spending time with my fellow board members and the NAIOP staff is so special to me. But having those limits in place is a good thing. It means the association is always evolving as the composition of the board changes.  

When you’re in the business for a long time, you develop a sense of the quality of these associations. Between the membership, programming, events and overall structure, NAIOP has always been second to none.

AZRE: What are some of the benefits engaging with NAIOP?

JO: That’s an easy one. I always tell people, ‘Look, you don’t have to believe me but go to one of our events and see for yourself — everyone that you want to know is there.’ Even though NAIOP is at its core a developer-focused organization, our chairman this year, Phil Breidenbach, is a broker. Other folks on the board are engineers, bankers and contractors. That’s because we want everyone within our industry to be on the same page, have the chance to network and share in the opportunity to shape public policy. 

And, candidly, all your competitors are already here, so you can join the party or not. And the only reason I can say that is because NAIOP has been built into a strong, well-respected organization. There’s no arguing the facts that getting involved brings a tremendous amount of value. 

AZRE: Is there anything going on in the industry you think readers should be aware of?

JO: Everyone needs to pay attention to our regulatory environment. One of the reasons why we’ve notched so many wins in Arizona is because we enjoy a very business friendly market. That has started to erode a little bit, so folks should be cognizant of what our elected officials are doing. It may seem like subtle shifts here and there, but we don’t want to wake up one day asking ourselves how we ended up with an overly burdensome regulatory framework that makes it hard for people to do business here.