Jeff Laird BIOGRAPHY
Qualifying Broker
Jeff Laird began his real estate career as a development project manager with La Salle Partners
(now Jones Lang La Salle - JLL) in Chicago in 1976, and later with The John Buck Co. and Capital
Associates Development Corp. He was involved with development of over 2 million square feet
of office, retail and both market-rate and subsidized multi-family projects.
In 1989 he founded Laird & Co. to provide the highest quality corporate real estate services to owners and users of commercial property in the Chicago metropolitan
area. He was one of the first to recognize the tremendous potential of the adaptive re-use of
industrial properties and other under-utilized urban land. His clients have consistently made generous returns on their real
estate investments. Over the next 18 years, he personally completed over $80 million in
commercial sale and lease transactions. The firm was a leader in the sale and lease of older properties on Chicago’s
North Side, in the evolving neighborhoods including River North, The Clybourn Corridor and
Ravenswood Avenue. Laird & Co. became known for creative marketing and innovative
brokerage and leasing strategies to maximize real estate values.
He was a long time member of the Chicago Association of REALTORS and the Association of
Industrial Real Estate Brokers (AIRE). He served on the board of directors of the Northern Illinois
Commercial Association of REALTORS. He completed the educational programs for the following professional designations:
• SIOR - The Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (National Association of REALTORS)
• CPM - Certified Property Manager, Institute of Real Estate Management (IREM)
• ABR - Accredited Buyer Representative (National Association of REALTORS)
Laird holds a B.A. from Rutgers University and a B. Architecture from Illinois Institute of Technology,
Chicago. He was a captain on the General's staff, at the HQ, US Army, Europe, Heidelberg, Germany.
He is an avid art collector, photographer and sculptor (JeffLaird.net), having recently won 1st in PHOTO New Mexico 2010 at Matrix Fine Art, Albuquerque, NM. His art has been exhibited at the Center for Contemporary Art, Santa Fe, The South Broadway Cultural Center, Albuquerque and ART Santa Fe. He is represented by Chumani Gallery, Madrid, NM and Right Brain Gallery, Albuquerque.
MEMBERSHIPS
- CARNM – CIE (Commercial Association of REALTORS, New Mexico - Commercial Information Exchange)
- SWMLS (Southwest Multiple Listing Service for residential and land with the Greater Albuquerque Association of REALTORS)
- LAMBDA ALPHA INTERNATIONAL (The Honorary Society for Land Economics)
- Museums of New Mexico Foundation • SITE Santa Fe • Albuquerque Museum of Art • Contemporary Art Society (CAS)
- Chinati Foundation, Judd Foundation, Marfa, TX, New York City
