Billion Dollar Baby

It's been more than a year since Colliers International became a company rather than a network. CEO Doug "Sweetness" Frye says building such a company on its own would have cost $1B and would be difficult for another firm to replicate.
 
We talked to Doug just before his speech at Colliers' national meetingat the Chicago Downtown Marriott on Friday. His newest project is an initiative to help employees donate to their favorite charities. It will kick off Feb. 12, 2012, when each Colliers employee is asked to donate $5 to his or her favorite charity and encourage his or her friends and clients to do the same (check here for more info). The giving treecould mean something special to each employee, just as each employee adds his or her own brand to the company. What's special to Doug? Although he's lived in Seattle near the Colliers International HQ in Vancouver for almost a decade, he's still a Bears fan (in case the Walter Payton jersey wasn't a dead giveaway).
 
Also on hand: Chicago president Bill Fausone, Drew Nieman, and David Kahnweiler. The Chicago team has added 17 new employees in the last year, including Drew, who is building a Chicago CBD agency leasing team. They also brought on the former Grubb & Ellis multifamily team led by Brian Pohl last week. Growing a presence in the apartment market and office agency leasing will be a priority over the next year.

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