JOHN HAROLD WHITSON

**** **** ***** • Palm Springs, CA 92262

Phone: 208-***-**** • Email: jqk7jo@r.postjobfree.com

Contract Negotiations • Project Leadership • Bottom-Line Profitability

Aggressive, resourceful, and accomplished Commercial Real Estate Professional with years of extensive experience in all aspects of commercial real estate and finance transactions nationwide. Results-oriented, decisive leader, highly skilled in negotiating multimillion-dollar retail land acquisitions. Proven capacity to successfully negotiate with developers, contractors, and investment community, bringing projects to timely completion. Profitable and comprehensive background in expansion, turnaround and start-up organizations. Exceptional legal and financial expertise. Excels in dynamic, demanding environments while remaining pragmatic and focused.

CORE COMPETENCIES

• High-stake Negotiations & Arbitration

• Operations and Project Management

• Financial Acumen / Profit Optimization

• Budget Preparation / Oversight

• Business Valuation / Risk Assessment

• Corrective Action Planning

• Market Adaptability / Trends Analyses

• Strategic Alliance Building

PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE / ACHIEVEMENTS

Vice President of Real Estate and Finance 2008 - Present

AXIOM, INC., Palm Springs, CA

Funded all types of commercial projects on a national basis using private equity funds. Oversaw all operations and budgeting for nine (9) projects. Worked closely on a national basis with 3rd part brokers in leasing and acquisitions. Repositioned and re-tenanted vacant space. Managed commercial loan workouts for lenders and borrowers.

Key Achievements:

• Developed and leased a 100k sq. ft. shopping center.

• Funded $150M of commercial projects.

• Leased and acquired 200k sq. ft. of commercial space.

Vice President of Sales and Finance Development 2006-2008

ACROSS AMERICA REAL ESTATE CORPORATION, Denver, CO

Recruited to provide 100% funding for, and to manage all operations involved in land purchase, development, construction, and tenant leasing for national retail and restaurant clients in all 50 states. Negotiate with retailers and developers on build-to-suit projects; set up projects in LLCs; negotiate retail leases and mediate sales of projects to private equity investment market (1031 Exchange, TIC, and REITS). Supervise six Vice Presidents nationwide, four District Managers, and general oversight of 20 employees.

Key Achievements:

• Increased sales from $6M to $40M (566%) in 2006.

• Increased sales from $40M to $80M (100%) in 2007.

• Substantially improved profitability by reducing operational costs by 23%.

National Leasing Manager / Acquisitions 2004-2006

DBSI GROUP OF COMPANIES, Boise, ID

Recruited to manage multiple commercial projects nationwide including land acquisitions, development, construction operations, and leasing. Negotiated funding with private equity investors.

Key Achievements:

• Successfully raised $1B in private equity capital for retail, industrial and office investments.

• Leased and acquired 4.2M sq. ft. of commercial and industrial properties nationwide.

John H. Whitson – Page 2

Vice President of Real Estate and Finance 2001-2004

REAL ESTATE NORTHWEST

Managed 3M+ sq. ft. of office, retail, and industrial properties on the West Coast for full-service private development company. Oversaw leasing, development and operations of all properties. Negotiated international real estate contracts in Asia. Supervised in-house and contract staff. Reported directly to President and CEO.

Key Achievements:

• Prepared and monitored budgets for 89 projects ranging from $1.5M to $10M each.

Pacific Northwest Regional Manager 1998-2001

CENTER TRUST RETAIL PROPERTIES, Seattle, WA

Managed 11 retail properties in Oregon and Washington totaling 1.5M sq. ft. Responsible for all aspects of shopping center management; day-to-day operations, tenant relations, personnel, contract services, and budget preparation.

Key Achievements:

• Built start-up company from 0 to 69 shopping centers on West Coast in 2 years and sold shopping centers to investment community.

Vice President of Leasing, Pacific Northwest 1996-1998

NEWMAN NORTHWEST, Federal Way, WA

Responsible for leasing, development and financing of four mid-sized, enclosed, single story malls: Factoria Mall - Bellevue, WA; Capital Mall - Olympia, WA; SeaTac Mall - Federal Way, WA; and Everett Mall - Everett, WA. Represented tenant and landlord. Solicited third party accounts.

Key Achievements:

• Successfully negotiated sale of all four shopping centers to investment market.

EDUCATION / TRAINING

LEED Training 2009

Bachelor of Arts - Business / Law 1993

Newport University, Newport Beach, CA

Licensed Real Estate Broker – OR and WA 1979

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