Johnson, DAUM Partnering Again After 16 Years

PHOENIX-Sixteen years after leaving DAUM Commercial Real Estate Services to launch his own firm, Carl Johnson has returned to the company as vice president. Johnson Commercial Properties is being folded into the local firm, with his son and research analyst coming along with him.

Johnson had been a senior sales executive at DAUM and left in 1992 to form Johnson Commercial Properties. During that time, he brought son Ben Johnson on board as well as Jeffrey Grems. “Though Carl had left, we still had a close and long-working relationship with him,” says Kirk Jenkins, executive vice president and principal of DAUM Commercial’s Phoenix office. “He always fit in with the company and had a good work ethic.”

Jenkins tells GlobeSt.com that Johnson approached DAUM with the possibility of rejoining his old company and bringing others along. Jenkins says DAUM liked the idea, partly because of the personnel fit and their industrial expertise.

Another factor is Johnson’s name recognition–real estate and as a former offensive lineman for the New Orleans Saints. “Carl’s been active in the market for 25 years,” Jenkins explains. “He’s a Phoenix native. A lot of why we hired him in the first place was the fact he knows everyone here, aside from the business aspect of the hire.”

Jenkins says the addition of Johnson Commercial’s personnel isn’t opening the floodgates for more hires at DAUM, but it is continuing to interview additional personnel. The 20-broker company is small by design, meaning personality mix is important. The younger Johnson also has been named vice president and Grems remains their research analyst.

“We have a seasoned staff. Most of the guys have been at DAUM for more than 20 years,” Jenkins says. “We don’t see a lot of turnover here, but we’re always looking for people that would fit in with the personality and work ethic of our company.”