Powerbrokers reflect industry trends.

The Los Angeles Business Journal proudly presents its second annual Towers of Influence: Who's Who in Commercial Real Estate.

As we did a year ago, the Business Journal has endeavored to compile a directory of the 100 commercial property professionals - based here in L.A. County - considered the most "influential" in our community at this very moment.

Clearly, the very term "influential" is inherently subjective, and compelling cases could be presented in favor of scores of individuals not featured in this year's directory.

And indeed, many such cases were presented - that's one talent possessed by many successful real estate pros. In fact, we culled the featured 100 from upwards of 300 worthy candidates.

As was the case last year, Assistant Managing Editor (and former Real Estate Editor) Michael Stremfel called the final shots - and accepts full credit and blame for same.

As the current real estate reporter, I told Michael what I know about each candidate, and he also worked confidentially with a handful of unofficial advisers from within the industry's ranks. Many thanks to our advisory teammates.

Standout performers

As the 15 "mini-profiles" indicate, we altered the directory's format a bit this year.

Last year's report featured 10 industry kingpins and an equal number of "rising star" types.

As the titans by definition perennially retain their influence, we opted for two new categories this year. We're featuring five pros who achieved exceptional success in 1994, and another handful off to a hot start this year. We've retained the "rising star" bracket, but are limiting it to the more definitive 35-and-under age category.

Along with the format, we ended up substantially altering the make-up of the 100 professionals as well - you'll see more than 40 new faces on the following pages that were not among our Who's Who last year.

The explanations are manifold.

Reflecting the persistent development vacuum - and the consequential decline in related professional "influence" - several of the pros exiting the directory are developers and architects. Others excluded this year had either retired, switched jobs, or are no longer as influential as those who replaced them, according to the Business Journal.

A general comparison might describe this year's group as more investment- and retail-oriented than the inaugural Who's Who list - reflecting the types of action prevailing in the market.

Illustrating the role the brokerage community plays in L.A.'s marketplace, a trio of top brokerages can each boast a handful of this year's industry stars. And some of the new blood flowed by way of key career promotions.

But this year's newcomers also include a few developers and architects whose profiles leaped over the last 12 months.

Selections reflect trends

As for the most-exalted 10, several of the profiles illustrate the shakeout still underway, as ownership of over-financed properties reverts from developers/investors back to lenders and on to opportunity-fund types. Hence, you'll see features on principals at firms profiling from that activity.

Also featured are other opportunistic locals making substantial "contrarian" plays for high-profile individual commercial real estate assets.

The three others featured are: the veteran high-profile executive who pulled off Kenneth Leventhal & Co.'s merger deal with Ernst & Young; the Premisys Real Estate Services pair that negotiated 700,000-plus square feet of leases at Century City's Delta Towers last year; and the La Salle Partners Ltd. exec who has quietly achieved huge results for his firm and its clients.

This year's banner crop of "rising star" types includes: an up-and-coming executive now heading L.A.'s biggest brokerage team, a highly active office broker who is following some big-time tenant-rep deals with an owner-agent mega-assignment, the top local executive of a development/management firm making great headway with key commercial projects, a key official of a mega-mortgage lender with huge stakes in troubled L.A. properties, and a hot young retail tenant rep handling his own "who's who" client roster.

Readers are encouraged to critique our approach to compiling this annual directory - hopefully with constructive suggestions on how we might make it as valuable a resource as possible.