Bill Lee |
LOS ANGELES, CA – It is with sadness that Lee & Associates announces that company founder, Bill Lee, passed away after a long battle with cancer and cancer-related complications last night. He was 78 years old.
Bill Lee founded Lee
& Associates Commercial Real Estate Services in 1979 in Orange County,
CA. The company now has 65 locations across North America and employs over
1,300 people, with a year-end consideration value of over $14B in 2020.
"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," said Lee in a 2019
interview with current Lee & Associates CEO, Jeffrey Rinkov.
Jeffrey Rinkov |
Bill set up the Lee & Associates model in a revolutionary way that has perpetuated the company's growth, each office has a vested interest in the other offices.
One of the key
elements is that agents at Lee & Associates have the ability to make
an investment into the growth of the company.
Culturally speaking,
how the offices are tied together because of the co-investment has cultivated a
legacy of collaboration that still permeates the organization today.
He strategically
designed capital at Lee & Associates to operate in smaller
components to allow the company capital to operate more
efficiently than other existing methods at the time, and allow agents the
opportunity to maximize their deals in terms of commission dollars.
"I am deeply
saddened by the loss of our visionary founder, friend, and long-time
leader," said Rinkov.
"On this difficult
day, I stand in tremendous appreciation with the thousands of real estate
professionals and their families that have been so positively impacted by the
company Bill created and the unique structure that has served us for 41+ years."
Sits Down with Company Founder, Bill Lee
Notably, Bill Lee
represented some of the largest companies in the world. He was a market-leader
in the industry and earned his SIOR designation in 1977.
Outside of his
commercial real estate career, Bill was a published author and coached youth
basketball. In recent years, Bill in his spare time became an avid gardener who
grew all of his own fruits and vegetables for a restaurant and inn he
owned.
He enjoyed
spending time with his family. Lee is survived by his four children,
Robb, John, Ryan, and Katie, and nine grandchildren.
CONTACT
Pamela Murphy
Lee & Associates
(832) 315-0219
pmurphy@lee-associates.com
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