News
The offering of Corporate Solutions has the potential to be a big deal for Foundry, but also for our clients. Many companies outsource their real estate services to resources they know can do a much better job of it, but a lot of our competitors are focused on landing the very biggest of those clients. There’s a vast arena of mid-size companies overlooked by the “bigs” in our industry, and Vince Dunavant is paving the way for us to capitalize on this market gap.
Vince knows a thing or two about building programs of this nature. He’s overseen the implementation and growth of corporate solutions programs at varying entities over the past three decades, and he’s thrilled by the opportunity to build upon Foundry’s reputation and platform of services to expand our corporate solutions offerings.
Laying the Foundation
Vince got his start in 1992 with Trammell Crow Company, and by 1996 had quickly worked his way up to Principal. He found himself in charge of Trammell Crow’s property management business in Tennessee; little did he know he was establishing relationships at this point in his career that would bring him to where he’s standing today. Vince and John Keller worked shoulder-to-shoulder when he first started at Trammell Crow; Vince running financial accounting and John serving as leasing agent. The two later joined forces in business development functions.
During this time while supporting Trammell Crow’s Nashville office, he met Pryse Elam, who was soon transferred to South Florida and would eventually build Foundry’s D&I platform. During Vince’s time as second-in-command in Memphis, Paul Ellis was serving in the same role for Trammell Crow in Orlando, and they formed a relationship with each other as peers. Eventually, Gregg Ickes came into the picture, and lo and behold, Vince had established relationships with many significant future Foundry players.
Designing Corporate Solutions Success
In 2007, with CBRE, Vince landed a full-service, five-year corporate solutions contract with Nissan North America, an obviously very big deal. Vince was working with just one other guy at the time, and he spent the next eight years building the account into one of the most successful and profitable segments of CBRE’s business. Today, approximately 65 CBRE employees work on that Nissan account.
In 2016, Vince took charge of CBRE’s corporate accounts in the Southeast, adding HCA Healthcare, Home Depot, and FPL to his portfolio. Vince has completed over 500 transactions worth $1.5 billion and – as a result of his innate ability to find value through corporate solutions – has been responsible for more than $350 million in total client savings.
Beginning Again
Over the years, Vince kept in touch with many of the contacts he’d established relationships with while working at Trammell Crow. When the opportunity arose to rejoin some of his former teammates at Foundry Commercial, it was an easy decision to become part of something with people he both liked or admired. He also recognized the chance to build something new again – to take his knowledge and expertise in corporate solutions, apply it to Foundry’s growing client-base, and bring that value to even more companies.
As Vince works to expand Foundry’s Corporate Solutions business, he’s primarily targeting multi-market, mid-cap companies with 50 or more locations, including clients we already serve. He has identified a gap in the market. The large firms offering corporate solutions aren’t typically going after these mid-cap companies, yet these companies can certainly benefit greatly from these services.
Vince is aiming to help our clients focus on and achieve core business objectives by closely aligning portfolio strategies to reduce occupancy cost, optimize space, improve decision-making, and enhance the overall occupant experience. In practice, that means Foundry will be providing advisory and transaction services, portfolio management, project management, and facilities management for multiple locations. Essentially, what Vince is building is a one-stop-shop for companies to outsource their real estate decisions and activity, saving them money while allowing them to focus on their core competencies.
Remaining Focused on What’s Important
As he grows Foundry’s Corporate Solutions business, Vince is looking to establish and grow relationships that can be mutually beneficial over long periods of time. “What inspires me most is knowing that so much can be achieved and gained over an extended period through a successful corporate services engagement,” he stated.
Helping clients is his driving force, especially when he is able to assist those who would be in pretty bad shape without the corporate solutions help. “When your clients become your biggest advocates, you know you’re doing something great, and it motivates you to do so much more for them,” he added.