Big or small, rep it like you own it. CBRE EVP Steve Rocher has taken this approach over his 40-year career and it’s served his clients well. That commitment and Steve’s track record (40M SF leased over his career) earned him HOLBA’s 2016 Landlord Representative of the Year honors. Meet the man with a 5.2M SF portfolio, including some of Houston's biggest offices.
Sales and client service have been part of Steve’s life almost from the time he could walk. He worked at his father’s clothing store growing up and self-funded most of his college education. He landed a job with Laguarta, Gavrel & Kirk after graduating from UT Austin, and while learning the real estate business worked part-time at night at Joske’s (now Dillard’s) on Post Oak.
Steve then joined the Vantage Cos, where he handled landlord rep duties while learning about office building property management. He became a VP by age 25. He joined Texas Energy Co to learn the development business, which gave him incentive to start his own company, Rocher Baltov. His firm ended up representing Prudential office properties in Houston.
At CBRE for over 12 years now (he was part of Trammell Crow Co), Steve is still working with some of the clients he had 25 years ago. One of his secrets is treating each property he reps as if it’s his own, something he gained appreciation for in his early years in business. Now Steve and his partners are busy leasing a 5.2M SF portfolio with about 900k SF of new Class-A office building under construction: Energy Center V is delivering in May, Wildwood Corporate Center 2 in The Woodlands is following in July, and 3200 Kirby is scheduled for a Q4 2017 delivery. Here's Steve with his family at Esther's Follies in Austin.
Don’t expect to see Steve lounging around outside the office. He's done the MS 150 23 times, and has been one of its top fundraisers. He takes regular summer fishing trips to Alaska, where he caught the king salmon in our first pic. Here's Steve on another annual adventure, the Super Bowl. He has gone with the same group every year for 15 years running. Steve is on the left with his son Scott, Streetwise Retail’s Ed James (his 25th year) and Cousins’ Warren Savery (his 30th year!).
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