THE LORD COMPANIES - Key Persons
Gina brings a unique understanding of business districts with a proven track record of results from her background in economic development, urban planning, real estate, and small business. As a certified urban planner and licensed real estate broker, she specializes in neighborhood economic development and leverages her referral network to support the success of her clients, which include municipalities, landlord and tenants. Clients benefit from Gina's understanding of their goals and finding strategic and creative solutions for them thorough sound data, listening, and insights into clients' communities and organizations.
Career highlights include transforming the City of Chicago's Special Service Areas (SSAs) from an underutilized tool to the nation's second largest portfolio, supporting the success of 70+ business organizations in over 60 Chicago neighborhoods as Assistant Commissioner with the City of Chicago, implementing innovative and sustainable programming as the Executive Director of the Lakeview East Chamber of Commerce/SSA #8 and utilizing her urban planning expertise to become a highly successful broker with The Lord Companies, LLC. Gina and her team also helped create and currently manage the newest SSA in Chicago, the Oak St. SSA in Chicago's Gold Coast.
Gina brings a unique perspective to projects with her blend of public sector urban planning and private sector real estate experience. Gina also worked on various SSA and economic development projects with PLACE Consulting, including the renewal of Downtown Evanston SSA, the Southeast Chicago SSA 50, and managing Devon SSA 43.
Job Titles:
- MANAGING PARTNER
- PRESIDENT
- President and General Partner of the Lord Companies, L.L.C
- President of the Retail Brokers Network
Since 1986, Keith Lord has served as President and General Partner of The Lord Companies, L.L.C., a diversified real estate corporation with consulting, brokerage, and development divisions specializing in urban infill and adaptive re-use brokerage, design, and development. The Companies' clients range from developers, Fortune 500 corporations, banks, law firms, private individuals, and the City of Chicago. In 2004, Keith Lord, along with Scott Fithian, were named the City of Chicago's "Top Retail Leasing Owner's Representation Brokers" by the Commercial Forum Awards. In 2012 he received the Top Producer Gold Sales Award from Chicago Commercial Forum for investment sales.
In 2009, Mr. Lord was a founding partner of Lord Financial Advisors, LLC. He is currently the President and Manager. Lord Financial Advisors provides distressed asset consulting and disposition services to financial institutions including banks, credit unions, insurance companies, private equity firms, and state banking associations. The principals of Lord Financial Advisors have over 80 years of combined experience in asset sales, real estate development, lending, and asset management. Lord Financial Advisors has proven success in helping financial institutions increase operating capital and reduce losses by maximizing value in the sale of performing and non-performing loans, loans in foreclosure, and Real Estate Owned.
Mr. Lord is the President of the Retail Brokers Network which has over 65 independent commercial retail real estate offices, including 5 offices in Canada and Mexico the RBN Network has over 600 brokers in North America, providing local expertise to retailers, developers, and investors within the United States and Canada. The Retail Brokers Network is one of the largest independent brokers' association in North America.
Prior to The Lord Companies, Mr. Lord developed real estate for The Trammell Crow Company which, at the time, was the largest real estate company in the country. Major clients included AT&T, Seimans, Hanover
Insurance, NEC, Unisys, Quaker Oats, and Prime Computers. In 1985, Mr. Lord was an investment banker for Lehman Brothers based in New York and Chicago. His focus was on institutional fixed income and real estate and mortgage-backed securities.
From 1984 to 1985, Mr. Lord attended the Kellogg Graduate School of Management at Northwestern University in Chicago, Illinois, where he received Master's Degrees in both Marketing and Finance. Prior to graduate school, Mr. Lord managed a $45 million division of The Procter and Gamble Company. He maintained full general manager responsibilities which included strategic planning, finance, sales management, and marketing. While at Procter and Gamble, Mr. Lord also served as a Brand Manager and Strategic Brand Introduction Consultant.
With his extensive experience in his field, Mr. Lord has been published in numerous periodicals regarding real estate and lectured at graduate and undergraduate levels regarding real estate and real estate finance. He has also been a regular panelist and moderator for real estate forums. Mr. Lord has spoken coast to coast regarding consumer, economic, and development trends and how they have and will affect the Real Estate industry.
Mr. Lord is heavily involved in the Chicago non-profit sector and has served on over 15 boards and been elected President of 8 organizations. Mr. Lord lives in Chicago on the north side of the City.
Job Titles:
- Director of Finance & Operations
Scott joined the Lord Companies in 1999. He brings strong sales, marketing, finance, and project management expertise from his prior experience in real estate development, corporate sales & marketing, investment finance, and management consulting. With Lord Companies, he focuses on brokerage and consulting for commercial and mixed-use properties in Chicago. He represents a wide range of owners, developers, and tenants.
His primary focus is the Chicago urban market, with particular expertise in the "collar" neighborhoods surrounding the Loop. He has consistently been one of the top commercial producers in the Lincoln Park, Lake View, and Lincoln Square/North Center neighborhoods. He and his partner, Keith Lord, were recognized as Chicago's top retail leasing owner's representation brokers at the inaugural Chicago Association of Realtors Commercial Forum Awards. Recently Scott also received the Platinum Commercial Sales award for the highest number of retail leasing transactions and a Gold Commercial Sales award for the second highest retail leasing SF in 2015 from the Chicago Association of Realtors.
Prior to joining Lord Companies Scott owned and operated a residential real estate development company that completed several unique multi-family development projects on Chicago's north side. This includes an award-winning new construction rowhouse project in the Lincoln Square area, where, in addition to spearheading the project from acquisition through rezoning, obtaining financing, and marketing the project, Scott personally designed most of the floorplans and layouts for the project. He also completed a unique 5-unit condo development in the Wrigleyville area where he designed new layouts to adapt a traditional 6-flat layout for the zoning restrictions in this location. He also designed and built a 3-unit apartment building in the West DePaul neighborhood that he continues to own and manage.
He was also a manager in the conversion of a 110-unit mixed-use apartment building in River North to residential and commercial condos and continues to own and manage the major commercial units in this building and was also a partner in the conversion of a former storage building in the West Loop to loft offices. Prior to starting his real estate career, Scott had nearly 20 years of experience in the medical equipment/life sciences industry. He was Managing Director of SFA Advisory Group, a sales and marketing consulting firm which he established in 1994. He also had 10 years of senior sales, marketing, strategic planning, and business development experience with