Norris, Beggs & Simpson Companies, NAI NBS’ parent company, was founded April 1, 1932, in Portland, Oregon, by A.D. Norris, and George J. Beggs, later joined by David B. Simpson. Beginning as property managers, services soon expanded into mortgage lending as loan correspondents for major life insurance companies. Over the years, the role of NBS Companies in commercial real estate broadened into its present full-service operation. Today, NBS Companies has four distinct areas of focus (one being NAI NBS, the brokerage/property management arm), and three offices in the Northwest, located in Portland, Oregon, and Vancouver and Seattle, Washington. Click here for an overview of our history and areas of focus. You can also learn more in Norris, Beggs & Simpson: Past, Present and Future, an article written by Tracy Laine in her Skyline Rewind column in Portland’s Daily Journal of Commerce.

Jan, who has been with NAI NBS since 1981, became CEO of the company during 2011. Read the DJC profile here to learn more about Jan’s career path and industry and community involvement.

Robertson

Jan Robertson is the new CEO of NBS Companies, the umbrella company that includes NAI NBS and three other divisions, while J. Clayton Hering (previously President) is Chairman of the Board. Chris Johnson, one of Portland’s top investment and office leasing brokers and a longtime partner in NBS Companies, is now President of NAI NBS.

Robertson’s career path has been unique. She joined NBS in 1981 in an administrative position, and quickly rose into management, becoming a partner in 1993. She has served as CFO since 2005. Robertson is involved in many industry organizations, including IREM and NAIOP. She is also a strong supporter of arts in education, holding leadership positions in organizations such as Young Audiences and the Regional Arts & Culture Council.

“Jan is simply the best person to run this company,” Hering said. “As CFO she’s had to make tough decisions, which she has ably done, while always keeping the well-being of our employees and clients first and foremost.”

As Chairman of the Board, a newly created position, Hering will continue to be involved in areas like strategic planning, mentoring, business development and community involvement, but his role in day-to-day operations, like administrative functions, will be reduced.

Johnson

H. Roger Qualman will be Chief Operating Officer of NAI NBS, overseeing the brokerage and property management divisions. Qualman has managed the company’s Vancouver office since 2000 and been with the company since 1985. Jeff Borlaug, Principal and Managing Director of Brokerage, who became a partner earlier this year, will increase his management responsibility in our Portland brokerage operations.

“The partners who are stepping into new roles have an incredible breadth and depth of experience,” Hering said. “This new leadership structure will spread out responsibility among them, which is a win-win for both the company and our clients.”

Last week was a good one for NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson. The Portland Business Journal’s list of Top Commercial Real Estate Companies in Portland came out, and NAI NBS was ranked #1! The list is ranked by number of current metro licensed agents, and we have 55. The full list is only available for subscribers, but you can see the Top 10 here.

The Commercial Association of Realtors (CAR) of Oregon/SW Washington also held its awards ceremony last Thursday. Many of our brokers and staff members are involved with CAR. Chris Johnson was named Office Broker of the Year, MaryKay West was named Co-Humanitarian of the Year, and Jeff Borlaug was recognized as Member of the Year. We also had two runners-up: Andrew Rosengarten for Rookie of the Year, and J.J. Unger for Retail Broker of the Year.

Two NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson employees were recognized at NAI Global’s 2011 Convention in Las Vegas last week.

Executive Vice President Roger Qualman, who manages NAI NBS’ Vancouver, Washington, office and oversees the company’s industrial sales team, received the Chairman’s Award. It recognizes the NAI Business Director who best exemplifies the “right stuff” as it relates to the effective management of an NAI office, including leadership, business generation, service delivery, participation in enterprise initiatives and integration of NAI tools and resources throughout the firm. Qualman is pictured at right accepting the award from NAI Global President Jeff Finn.

Real Estate Broker Ross Connor, who specializes in industrial properties, was named to the NAI Global Elite, a group comprised of the organization’s top performers and top producers. He qualified as a Top Performer at the Elite level based on 2010 production.

And the winner of the competition was (drumroll please . . . ): NAI Norris, Beggs & Simpson! The money and food we donated equaled 124 boxes of food. We also had an internal competition to encourage donations, and our property managers especially stepped up and gave generously.

Though the competition was fun, the real goal of this project is to give as much as possible to the Oregon Food Bank, which is the hub of a network of 935 hunger-relief agencies throughout Oregon and Southwest Washington.

The Oregon Food Bank is a busy organization in good times, but the recession has been especially tough on Oregonians. From 2008-2009, distribution of emergency food boxes increased more than 14 percent from the previous year, to a historic high of 897,000.

The number of people per month who ate meals from an emergency food box jumped from an average of 200,000 per month in 2007-08 to 240,000 per month in 2008-09.

Please consider supporting the food bank in your area!