{"id":1004520832,"date":"2021-04-09T00:33:55","date_gmt":"2021-04-09T08:33:55","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/internal.cpexecutive.com\/?p=1004520832"},"modified":"2021-05-15T10:23:59","modified_gmt":"2021-05-15T18:23:59","slug":"lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/","title":{"rendered":"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away"},"content":{"rendered":"<div id=\"attachment_1004520835\" style=\"width: 310px\" class=\"wp-caption alignright\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image-1.png\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\"><img decoding=\"async\" aria-describedby=\"caption-attachment-1004520835\" loading=\"lazy\" class=\"wp-image-1004520835 size-medium\" src=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png\" alt=\"\" width=\"300\" height=\"225\"><\/a><p id=\"caption-attachment-1004520835\" class=\"wp-caption-text\">Bill Lee, Founder of Lee &amp; Associates. <em>Image courtesy of Lee &amp; Associates<\/em><\/p><\/div>\n<p>Bill Lee, the founder of commercial real estate brokerage Lee &amp; Associates,&nbsp; passed away earlier this week, after a long battle with cancer. The industry leader was 78 years old.<\/p>\n<p>In 1979, Lee founded Lee &amp; Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in Orange County, Calif., based on values including shared responsibility and cooperation. Since then, the firm grew to its current 65 locations and more than <a href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-opens-new-dc-nova-office\/\">1,300 employees across North America<\/a>. In 2020, Lee &amp; Associates had a year-end consideration value of more than $14 billion.<\/p>\n<p>Prior to establishing the company, Lee was introduced to the real estate industry by serving as a broker for Grubb &amp; Ellis for nine years. Based on that experience, he decided to open his own business, with a focus on profit-sharing and collaboration. During his career, Lee represented some of the largest companies in the industry, earning the SIOR designation in 1977.&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>After more than three decades of leading Lee &amp; Associates, he retired in 2008. Outside of the office, he was a published author and basketball coach. In recent years, he ran a bed and breakfast in Los Osos, Calif., for which he supplied all fruits and vegetables he personally grew.<\/p>\n<p>&#8220;I revisited all of the reasons I started the company, and I realized that I did it because the future was more valuable to me than the present,&#8221; noted Lee in a 2019 interview with current Lee &amp; Associates CEO, Jeffrey Rinkov.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The veteran executive established the national real estate services firm in 1979 and led it for three decades.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1269,"featured_media":1004528494,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[23891,21742,21744],"tags":[32762],"class_list":["post-1004520832","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-national","category-latest","category-people","tag-lee-associates"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v23.4 (Yoast SEO v24.6) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away - Commercial Property Executive<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"The veteran executive established the national real estate services firm in 1979 and led it for three decades.\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:publisher\" content=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2021-04-09T08:33:55+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2021-05-15T18:23:59+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"600\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"449\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/png\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:site\" content=\"@cpexecutive\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/\",\"name\":\"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away - Commercial Property Executive\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png\",\"datePublished\":\"2021-04-09T08:33:55+00:00\",\"dateModified\":\"2021-05-15T18:23:59+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png\",\"width\":600,\"height\":449},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/\",\"name\":\"Commercial Property Executive\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb\",\"name\":\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/theeditorsofcommercialpropertyexecutive\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO Premium plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away - Commercial Property Executive","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away","og_description":"The veteran executive established the national real estate services firm in 1979 and led it for three decades.","og_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/","og_site_name":"Commercial Property Executive","article_publisher":"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/CPExecutive","article_published_time":"2021-04-09T08:33:55+00:00","article_modified_time":"2021-05-15T18:23:59+00:00","og_image":[{"width":600,"height":449,"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png","type":"image\/png"}],"author":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_creator":"@cpexecutive","twitter_site":"@cpexecutive","schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/","name":"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away - Commercial Property Executive","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png","datePublished":"2021-04-09T08:33:55+00:00","dateModified":"2021-05-15T18:23:59+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png","contentUrl":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png","width":600,"height":449},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/lee-associates-founder-bill-lee-passes-away\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Lee &amp; Associates Founder Bill Lee Passes Away"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#website","url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/","name":"Commercial Property Executive","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/1b82b91678533ae5d40e3240086a42bb","name":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/fc4d938ac2881d5bcae0ddd8397983de4563e191bf8314571185ff32f8f83ea6?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"the Editors of Commercial Property Executive"},"url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/author\/theeditorsofcommercialpropertyexecutive\/"}]}},"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/46\/2021\/05\/MicrosoftTeams-image.png","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004520832","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1269"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1004520832"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004520832\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1004534480,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1004520832\/revisions\/1004534480"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1004528494"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1004520832"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1004520832"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.commercialsearch.com\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1004520832"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}