Q&A: Leadership role has Robertson pushing culture.

Byline: Matt M. Johnson

The Minneapolis office of JLL in October changed up its leadership, moving Managing Director Brent Robertson to head the 50-person office as the market lead.

Robertson, a 42-year-old Edina native, takes over for Chris Rohrer, who recently left JLL to start a new commercial real estate company, Rokos Advisors.

The change is something that Robertson is ready for after working primarily in the office market with JLL's local office since 2011. It's something he's seen several of his colleagues do.

"It's a rotating role," he said in a recent interview. "It's not too dissimilar to being a managing partner at a law firm."

Robertson will remain involved in office projects, including the ongoing overhaul of RSM Plaza in downtown Minneapolis. The 20-story tower at 801 Nicollet Mall is getting a $10 million renovation of about 63,000 square feet of space that was once primarily occupied by a Barnes & Noble bookstore.

The new leadership role will be a boost to Robertson's work with clients, he said.

"I think it will only help me service my clients better," he said.

Finance & Commerce recently sat down with Robertson to ask him some questions about his new job and about how he enjoys his time away from work, much of which revolves around his wife, Pia, and the couple's two daughters. His answers have been lightly edited for length and clarity.

Q: How did you get into this line of work?

A: I needed a job after college and traveling the world for a couple years, and I started as a property-management intern at United Properties in 2003. Which led to my first permanent position, which was managing the parking ramp at Midwest Plaza, which is now RSM Plaza.

I took on more property management projects and then transitioned over to brokerage in 2005.

Q: What are the global trends or national trends you're seeing in the Twin Cities?

A: The sophistication of both the office building owner and the user, it just continues to escalate. And what I mean by that is where technology is playing a big role. And it's not only what owners are now offering in their properties, but also how tenants are using space, and providing analytics that help drive users of real estate to make decisions. It's not just simply touring a few spaces, getting a couple of proposals and making the decision. It's much more-data driven than in the past.

Q: What innovation are you seeing in commercial real estate?

A: It's just the proliferation of prop-tech entering our...