Adler To Build North America Team For JLLH

NEW YORK? Watch for the domestic division of Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels to grow now that Arthur Adler has been named managing director/CEO North America for the hotel advisory/transaction firm. One of the former Sonnenblick-Goldman executive?s new duties is to expand his present staff of 15, which is divided among Jones Lang LaSalle Hotels? U.S. offices in New York, Los Angeles and Miami. Adler said one of his mandates is to grow the business in the United States for his new firm, which shouldn?t be difficult since parent company Jones Lang LaSalle has offices in virtually every city in the country. Adler said that ?it would be fairly simple to put some people in Chicago, Dallas, or San Francisco.? Adler pointed out that his division of the firm does transaction as well as advisory work. ?Our strategy in terms of our advisory work is to do work for major clients who are large, multi-national hotels,? he said, noting that generally the firm does transactions valued at $25 million or more. Adler, who has counterparts in London and in Australia, said that his new post combines the experience he has culled over the years from past positions. ?What?s interesting is I was eight years with Coopers and Lybrand and 18 years in total on the consulting side, so this position allows me to combine all of my advisory expertise and all of my transaction expertise from heading up Sonnenblick-Goldman?s practice for the last two years. It takes the best of everything I do with my relationships and puts them together so I can apply them here.? Adler noted that Jones Lang LaSalle?s global presence was also an attraction to his joining the staff. ?I feel the ability to raise equity and debt internationally given the resources that we have here is the best possible platform for me to serve my clients,? he said. As he expands his domestic staff, Adler will be eyeing North American properties for his clients. ?We are handling properties in the United States either for sale and financing,? he said. ?We have properties that we are marketing for sale or for financing either individually or as a portfolio.? But that doesn?t mean Adler?s feet will be simply planted in the United States. ?My focus is on the United States, but many of our clients in the United States are going to be doing things overseas,? he noted. In fact, again pointing to his new firm?s worldwide scope, Adler noted that his U.S. team and international counterparts have the world covered. ?Whereas many firms are just looking to the U.S. market for potential investors or lenders, we scour the globe. We have liaisons that work each market so there is someone in Asia who is responsible for liaising with America and there is someone in Europe responsible for liaising with someone in America and is responsible for making sure that the properties are exposed to buyers in those regions. Then what we do is travel to those regions and present the investment opportunity or the lending opportunity or financing opportunity to the market,? he noted.