Chris Fox Steps into Role of President and Chief Executive Officer of Region’s Largest Commercial Real Estate Firm
On the heels of an exponential growth through acquisition, Gershman Commercial Real Estate has tapped industry veteran Chris Fox, SIOR, CCIM to lead the firm as president and CEO, effective October 1. Fox joined Gershman in 2013 as executive vice president of transactions and advisory services. In September 2019, Fox led Gershman’s effort to partner with BurkHill Real Estate LLC to acquire Sachs Properties’ prominent 860,000-square-foot, 18-property real estate portfolio in Chesterfield, Missouri with a total investment more than $100 million. The deal represented one of the largest real estate transactions in St. Louis in recent history. In the firm’s 71-year history, Fox is only the second non-Gershman family CEO.
Gershman has now solidified a new executive team, comprised of Fox, Bruce Brophy as COO and Sue Strubinger as CFO. Tom Stearn remains as executive chairman.
Gershman was founded in 1948 in Clayton, Missouri as Solon Gershman Inc., Realtors. In 2005 Gershman merged with Follman Properties – ONCOR International to form one of the largest commercial real estate firms in the St. Louis area. In 2011 Gershman acquired Coldwell Banker Commercial’s Property Management Division, and in 2013 changed its name to Gershman Commercial Real Estate to better reflect the firm’s brand identity as the largest locally owned commercial real estate brokerage and management services company in St. Louis. Today the firm is involved in every phase of the commercial real estate process including sales, leasing, tenant representation, and property management.
“I and everyone in the Gershman family are very excited about this new leadership team and are confident that they will continue to grow the legacy of trust and integrity built by Solon Gershman,” said Tom Stern, executive chairman of Gershman Commercial Real Estate.
In his new role, Fox will have oversight of strategic direction of the firm and the pursuit of future investments and new business opportunities, as well as continuing to oversee the brokerage and advisory services. Fox will also oversee Gershman Commercial Equities, a subsidiary of Gershman Commercial Real Estate which holds multiple Gershman family properties.
“I think I speak for everyone at Gershman Commercial Real Estate when I say that we are excited about what the future holds for this storied firm,” said Fox. “We are building on the legacy of Solon Gershman to found a firm that is customer-centric and leadership driven, where entrepreneurial C-suite clients can find like minds who will work with them in partnership to grow their own companies as we grow with them.”
Fox joined Gershman in 2013 as executive vice president of transactions and advisory services from which he led the firm’s brokerage and advisory team. As president and CEO, Fox will be responsible for the firm’s organizational leadership, supervision of all company departments, new business development, and management of client relationships and transactions.
Fox succeeds Bruce Pompe who will shift his focus to serving several key client relationships and continue as an advisor to the firm’s executive management team, taking on the role of executive vice president.
Established in 1948, Gershman Commercial Real Estate is the largest locally owned commercial real estate firm in the St. Louis, Missouri, metro area. It provides unparalleled service and support during all stages of a commercial real estate transaction. The company’s current management portfolio exceeds six million square feet of office, retail, industrial and multi-family space, inclusive of 175+ properties and over 1,100 tenants, located throughout the St. Louis metropolitan market.