Greg O’Brien

Greg’s diverse career in commercial real estate spans three decades. He has helped investors buy skyscrapers and shopping malls, and worked with companies navigating lease agreements and large-scale renovation projects. Greg came to JLL during the acquisition of The Staubach Company, where he was CEO, in 2008. In the decade since, he has held numerous senior leadership roles at JLL.

Greg started as CEO of the Americas in 2014. Based in Washington D.C., he works closely with JLL’s clients and teams in cities around world. Increasingly, his job involves helping to tailor technology solutions for clients looking to use big data, which is improving the efficiency of everything from elevator maintenance, to complex portfolios with thousands of assets.

Greg wasn’t always in real estate. He worked in technology for three years after earning an electrical engineering degree from Tufts University in 1984. He has carried those early skills and insights – such as quickly figuring out what works, and what doesn’t – through his career. He shifted into the real estate industry after graduating from Harvard Business School with an MBA.

A strong believer in the value of education, he has served on the board of directors of Teach for America since 2000.

In his spare time, he enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, playing golf and the occasional scuba dive.