Jim Jetland

President of Excelsior Brokerage

Veteran commercial real estate broker Jim Jetland, 54, partnered with Eden Prairie-based Excelsior Group to launch a new commercial real estate brokerage firm called Excelsior Brokerage. Jetland says aligning with the well-established investment and development company will help him create a leading Twin Cities brokerage house. He plans to hire approximately 10 veteran brokers. "The market will ultimately tell me who wants to come over," he said.

Jetland says he's also excited about being part of some investment opportunities with the Excelsior Group. The company purchased more than $200 million in commercial real estate during the past several years, primarily through its Opportunity Partners Funds.

Jetland and Kim Culp, CEO of the Excelsior Group, worked together at the Shelard Group earlier in Jetland's career. Most recently, Jetland was executive director of brokerage services at Bloomington-based Cushman & Wakefield/NorthMarq, where he worked with clients like General Mills, Coldwell Banker Burnet and Focus Financial Network. Throughout his career, Jetland has completed approximately 8 million square feet of deals. He was a standout hockey goalie who played for Grand Rapids High School when they were state champs in the mid-1970s, and the University of Minnesota, where he played for Coach Herb Brooks for one year.

Q: Any correlation between hockey and real estate?

A: What I've learned about myself is competition is something I really enjoy and thrive on regardless of my age. Maybe that's why I like the brokerage business. I believe it has a lot to do with the competitive side of it, but also the teamwork side of it to get it done. I think athletes work well on a team structure.

Q: Why decide to lead this new firm?

A: I wanted to get into a situation where I was an owner of my own company and felt that I could have more impact on the daily decisions and direction of the company. Hopefully, I will bring in some other key veteran people that have the same interest. The other big thing is I want to get more involved in investing myself, and this is a platform that allows me to be in front of more transactions on a regular basis that I could potentially invest in.

Q: What do you hope to accomplish during your first year?

A: Have maybe two more veteran people and their teams as part of our platform. Continue to move forward and not lose any of my existing clients, and I fully expect that will be the case. And I would hope to have pursued and won some additional business that kind of validates in my mind that what I'm doing is the right thing.

Liz Wolf is an Eagan-based freelance writer. She can be reached at wolfliz99@aol.com.