Lee & Associates Taps Rinkov as Board President & Chairman

By Lynn Armitage, Contributing Writer

It’s been a whirlwind promotion for Jeffrey Rinkov of Lee & Associates. In the last 30 days, the 47-year-old Rinkov has been catapulted from his position as president of the Central Los Angeles location to running the whole show as the newly named interim president and chairman of the board for one of the largest broker-owned commercial real estate firms in the country.

“It is really a humbling opportunity,” Rinkov told Commercial Property Executive, who is replacing his “mentor,” Ed Indvik, who held the position as the company’s first CEO since 2008. “We made significant strides under some very competent and excellent leadership with Ed. But we determined that there’s going to be some different leadership and a little different style that includes more implementation and some higher-reaching initiatives.”

In his new role, Rinkov will be doing double-duty.  Not only will he report to Lee’s Board of Directors and national presidents to carry out the firm’s overall objectives, but also, he will continue to run the offices in Commerce and the City of Industry.

One of the first orders of business for the busy new chairman involves marketing. “We have a tremendously successful broker-owned model and one of the things we want to tackle is: How do we convey to the market that our broker-owned model is the best, most client-centric model out there?”

Rinkov will also oversee an expansion of three to five new offices next year, in locations he’s not yet ready to disclose. “But I will tell you that early in 2014, we are going to announce two very exciting office openings … in large markets where we don’t have a presence currently.”

The new president and chairman who has worked with Lee & Associates since 1997, crossed over from the textile manufacturing business. “It became very difficult to continue on as a manufacturer in California, and two of the brokers I worked with were leaving to go to Lee & Associates. Half-jokingly, I told them that I was going to get my real estate license and come work for them,” he said, adding that that’s exactly what he did.

In the highly competitive world of commercial real estate, Rinkov is very clear about what differentiates Lee & Associates from other broker-owned firms. “We have what we would call pitchers, not catchers; a highly motivated group of owners who execute and operate with an incredible level of efficiency.”

Rinkov said that he and the Board of Directors have determined that he will hold his “interim” post for about six months, at which time his performance will be assessed.

Lee & Associates is the largest broker-owned firm in the country, with more than 750 brokers in 49 locations in California, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Illinois, Indiana, Kansas, Maryland, Michigan, Missouri, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, South Carolina, Texas, and Wisconsin. Lee offers a broad range of commercial real estate services, specializing in the sale and leasing of office, industrial, retail, commercial and multifamily investment and land developments.