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Human Capital

 

   

Melissa J. Copley is President and Founder of Copley Advisors, a strategic real estate advisory and transaction services firm. Ms. Copley is known for her experience, leadership, strategic perspective, financial expertise, negotiating skills and achieving outstanding results for her clients.


Experience:
Ms. Copley began her business career in 1983 as an associate in banking with Citibank in Midtown Manhattan. Beginning in 1985, while attending evening graduate business school, Ms. Copley worked full time as a venture capital financial analyst for RBK Management in Chicago. Upon graduation from business school in 1988, Ms. Copley joined LaSalle Partners, now Jones Lang LaSalle (JLL), in Tenant Representation.

Ms. Copley was with JLL for over 17 years. In 2002, she became a JLL International Director. This top designation was shared at the time by 130 of JLL’s 17,000 + professionals. Ms. Copley was Managing Director and Team Leader of JLL’s largest tenant representation team, which closed over 20 million RSF in transactions. She was Chairman of JLL’s Global Law Firm Practice. Ms. Copley was JLL’s strategic alliance Oversight Executive for Foley & Lardner, GATX Corporation, Huron Consulting, United Health Group and Sprint. Other important clients included: Baker & Hostetler, Jones Day, Katten Muchin Rosenman, PageNet, Prudential, Seyfarth Shaw, and Unilever.

In 2005, Ms. Copley founded Copley Advisors, a firm that provides specialized tenant representation and strategic real estate portfolio planning services wherever its clients’ needs are. Copley Advisors is dedicated to achieving outstanding results on behalf of its clients. Since 1989, Ms. Copley has represented GATX Corporation, a core client of Copley Advisors, across multiple locations, including its 125,000 RSF Chicago headquarters, a sale of GATX’s 60,000 RSF Eden’s Prairie, Minnesota building, a 44,000 RSF sublease in San Francisco, California, and two advisory assignments. Other representative clients include The Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, Consolidated American Services, EF International Language Schools, European Metal Recycling, First American Commercial Real Estate Services, Mr. James J Glasser (Chairman Emeritus of GATX), Kinship Trust Company, LLC, Lannon, Lannon & Barr, Ltd., Mason Avenue Investments, Matushek, Nilles & Sinars, L.L.C., Michael J. Wilson & Associates, Integrys (Peoples Gas), and Victorinox/Swiss Army.


Education, Licensing and Affiliations:
Ms. Copley holds an M.B.A. in finance and marketing from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University and a B.A. in economics from the University of Michigan. She is a licensed Illinois Real Estate Broker.

Ms. Copley is a Board Member of the Boys and Girls Clubs of Chicago, Chairman and a Board Member of the International Association of Attorneys and Executives in Corporate Real Estate (AECRE), and a member of CoreNet Global, Chicago Chapter of CoreNet, Lambda Alpha International, a land economics society, and The Realty Club of Chicago.


Industry Recognition:
2009:

  • Founder of the AECRE Chicago Networking Lunch program:

  •  
    • June 15, 2009; speaker Alan Kravets, President, Sheldon Good & Company, on the topic of the state of current auction market.
       
    • September 21, 2009; speaker Lisa J. Cunningham, Region Manager Real Estate Banking, JPMorgan Chase Bank, on the topic of real estate lending in current times.
       
  • One of two panelists at the Crain’s Online Seminar, “Right Size Your Lease” (Chicago, IL); panel moderated by Tom Corfman, Senior Real Estate Reporter; webinar format with on screen presentations and interactive question and answer session with audience.
     
  • Panelist at the 3rd Quarter CoreNet Mentorship Program (Chicago, IL); panelists included head of corporate real estate from Bank of America and Verizon.
     
  • Interviewed by Lisa Leiter of Crain’s Chicago Business Today, “Demand Dead For Downtown Office Space”; aired on the worldwide web.
     
  • Instructor on the CoreNet Global / MCR Advanced Real Estate Negotiations class (Chicago, IL); fellow instructors from MBG Consulting and Brown, Udell Pomerantz & Delrahim, LTD. and Dennis DeCamp. Course received top ratings. Instructors have been invited to teach this course in other CoreNet cities.
     
  • Panel Moderator for fourth consecutive year on the Chicago Downtown Office Market at the Real Estate Publishing Group’s Commercial Real Estate Forecast (Chicago, IL); panelists from CB Richard Ellis, Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler Inc., MB Real Estate and Perkins & Will.

2008:

  • Panel Moderator on the General Market Overview at the Real Estate Publishing Group's Downtown Office & Property Management Conference (Chicago, IL); panelists from CB Richard Ellis, Development Resources, Inc., Golub & Company, Jones Lang LaSalle and Tishman Speyer.
     
  • Panel Moderator on the Chicago Downtown Office Market at the Real Estate Publishing Group’s Commercial Real Estate Forecast (Chicago, IL); panelists from Colliers Bennett & Kahnweiler, Hines, Jones Lang LaSalle, Tishman Speyer and J.F. McKinney.
     
  • Executive Women in Corporate Real Estate Leadership Retreat (Harvard University) participant.

2007:

  • Panelist at AECRE Fall Forum, “Landlord versus Tenant – The Letter of Intent Battle”; panelists from Seyfarth Shaw, Tishman Speyer, and former Equity Office Properties.
     
  • Panelist at Property Development Due Diligence Conference produced by Incremental Advantage; panelists from Bell, Boyd & Lloyd LLP and S&B Construction Company, LLC.
     
  • Panel Moderator on the Chicago Downtown Office Market at the Real Estate Publishing Group’s Commercial Real Estate Forecast (Chicago, IL); panelists from MB Real Estate, The John Buck Company, Equis, Hines and Staubach.
     
  • Executive Women in Corporate Real Estate Leadership Retreat (New York City) participant.

2006:

  • Named 2005 CoStar Power Broker.
     
  • Panel Moderator at AECRE’s Annual Meeting (Santa Fe, NM) on Maximizing Corporation’s Value of Excess Properties; panelists from Prudential and Sprint.
     
  • Panel Moderator at Executive Women in Corporate Real Estate Leadership Retreat (Harvard University) on Generational Issues and Real Estate; panelists from Microsoft, Google, MTV, Viacom, and Hartford.
     
  • Chicago CoreNet Panelist with BP Amoco and Rockwell International on Supporting Business Objectives Through Real Estate.
     
  • Panel Moderator on the Chicago Downtown Office Market at the Real Estate Publishing Group’s Commercial Real Estate Forecast (Chicago, IL); panelists from The Prime Group, JF McKinney Assoc., Staubach, and CBRE.

2005:

  • Panelist at the Law Firm / Financial Services conference of the Real Estate Communications Group.
     
  • NAIOP Panelist on Downtown Chicago Market Forecast

2004: Speaker and Educator at the Association for Legal Administrators in Jacksonville, Florida

2003: Named one of Commercial Property News’ “Hottest Brokers”

2002: Speaker at the Toronto Law Office Management Association Conference

Authorship:

  • The Copley Advisor: The Chicago Real Estate Quarterly Market Report for Tenants
     
  • Ms. Copley has written and contributed to numerous real estate articles in a variety of publications, many of which are featured The Copley Advisor. Articles by Ms. Copley featured in The Copley Advisor include:
  • “The Economy And Its Impact On The Office Market”
  • “Asbestos And Leasing: A 2008 Case Study”
  • “The Economy And The Downtown Chicago Real Estate Market”
  • “Position Your Firm Best For A New Lease”
  • “The Importance Of A Good Terms Letter”
  • “Market Dichotomy In Rental Rates”
  • “Year End Market Commentary”
  • “It’s A Generations Gap”
  • “Metrics – Do You Measure Up?”
  • “One Shoe Does Not Fit All”
  • “Great Leasing Terms Don’t Fall Off A Truck”


 
 

Our People

 

"We are dedicated to providing our clients with the best results. It starts with our people, who have an intense commitment to excellence, a natural drive to succeed on behalf of others, and the experience, mindset, and analytical capabilities to be able to develop and negotiate strategic solutions for our clients. Strategic solutions should be based on your business objectives, and that is our starting point. Your Copley Advisors team will identify and drive strategic solutions, while providing in-depth analysis and a well documented process to assist you in building consensus throughout your organization." ...... Melissa J. Copley


   

Sharon Durling
Vice President
Sharon.Durling@CopleyAdvisors.Com
312-324-3602

 

   

Earl Machen
Office Manager and Executive Assistant
Earl.Machen@CopleyAdvisors.Com
312-324-3600

 

 
 

 

Best-In-Class Custom Team Assemblage

 
On a client-by-client basis, Copley Advisors assembles best-in-class experts in the areas of:  Project Management; Architecture, Space Programming, Planning and Design; Engineering; and Demographics, as needed to provide excellent and comprehensive services required for any given assignment.  Since no two clients, assignments or markets are alike, we have found that our ability to objectively customize teams to be a true benefit to our clients.  Over the years, this approach has yielded dynamic and top-rated teams for our clients, as well as outstanding results in every case.  We assemble a best-in-class team, with competitive pricing at the heart, for every project.  We welcome the opportunity to customize your best-in-class team, based on your specific needs, objectives, and culture.
 
 

Copley Advisors Support Team

 

Wells Fargo Insurance Services -  Business Insurance

Krohn Studio - Marketing Communications

Advanced Networking - Computer systems and software

OnShore, Inc. - Voice Over IP, Internet Hosting

The Hechtman Group Ltd. - Accounting, Record Keeping, Tax