Transwestern's gone through some big changes recently, including the creation of itsnew Southwest territory.It tagged Kevin Roberts, whom many of you already know, to be regional prez, so we dropped by for a chat.

Kevin was born in Houston and worked half his professional life here, so he's enjoying the return from Central Texas. (He had been lost to the siren song of the Riverwalk but seems to have come to his senses.) He's been with Transwestern for 24 years and tells us the firm created the Southwest territory out of a number of hot markets: Houston, Austin, San Antonio, Denver, Salt Lake City, and New Orleans. The clumping makes sense as the cities havesimilarlyeducated populations and strong job growth. But Kevin loves that Transwestern is decentralized, so each city is handled individually.

The firm wants to expand its capital markets platform into Denver and Salt Lake, but his first priority is fostering a stronger connection within the new territory. If you stop by to welcome Kevin, we dug up some fun facts to break the ice: He has four sons (and they're all taller than he is, above); his last supper would be a thick steak with a bold cab (but he's not sure he'd be hungry if he knew it was his last meal); his favorite vacation spot is anywhere in Mexico; and the worst traffic in his region is the Galleria during NBA All-Star weekend. (Seriously, that was terrible.)