Colorado Real Estate Journal - November 19, 2014
Chris Wiedenmayer joined Legend Investment Group, the new investment arm of Legend Retail Group. Wiedenmayer, who most recently was an investment adviser at Marcus & Millichap, will head the group that will enable clients of Legend Retail Group, which specializes in the representation of retail tenants and landlords, to sell their properties following lease-up efforts by the firm. Widenmayer has specialized in the acquisition and disposition of multitenant and single-tenant, net-leased retail assets in Colorado and the Western United States for the past 18 years. He has been involved in more than $100 million worth of investment real estate transactions in Colorado, California, Florida and Arizona. At Marcus & Millichap, he focused on multitenant and single-tenant investment properties. David Egeland joined The Laramar Group as vice president of marketing. Egeland comes to Laramar from General Growth Properties, where he spent 14 years in several senior marketing positions. During his 27-year career, Egeland also has worked as a brand director at Sears Roebuck and Co., senior brand manager at Kraft Foods, media supervisor for Leo Burnett advertising and roles at GGP, including vice president of marketing-Western region. Egeland holds a Bachelor of Science degree in communications from the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign and a Master of Business Administration from the Kellogg School of Management at Northwestern University. Hillary Ellis joined Kutak Rock LLP’s real estate and commercial group. She will specifically assist with complex commercial real estate matters, including acquisition, disposition of commercial properties, and development and leasing of retail, office and industrial properties. Ellis graduated with her Juris Doctor from the University of Denver Sturm College of Law and her bachelor’s degree from the University of Vermont. Brandy E. Natalzia joined Otis, Bedingfield & Peters LLC. Her practice at the firm will focus on real estate and business transactions, including the preparation, review and negotiation of contracts and entity formation. Natalzia relocated to Northern Colorado from Florida, where she was a judicial intern, an associate attorney with a small law firm in Jacksonville, Florida, and worked as a legal project manager. Prior to law school, she worked for a national homebuilder for which she prepared and implemented a training program for new home sales and dealt exclusively with contract preparation and negotiation. Natalzia graduated cum laude from the University of North Florida with a Bachelor of Arts degree in communication. She earned her law degree from Florida Coastal School of Law. Phil Walker was named director of business development of Opus Design Build LLC’s Denver office. In this new role, Walker will build relationships with clients, consultants and industry stakeholders in the Denver market, supporting the organization’s business development strategy. With more than 25 years of experience in business development in the construction industry, Walker comes to Opus from Foothills Commercial Builders, where he was director of business development. Other previous professional experiences include business development roles at Apishapa Renewables LLC, Playtime LLC and Allied Floor Services Inc. Walker earned a Bachelor of Science in mass communications from Bradley University. Andy Smith joined Chrisland Commercial Real Estate Inc. as an adviser. In this role, Smith will serve clients in a licensed brokerage capacity and help them navigate challenges related to entitlement, design and due diligence. Smith recently served an eight-year term on the city of Fort Collins Planning & Zoning Board, including the last two as chairman. Prior to joining Chrisland, Smith worked in private enterprise roles that included commercial banking, turnaround business consulting, the launch of a successful Internet technology venture and chief financial officer of an e-commerce company. Additionally, Smith worked in the public sector as a downtown redevelopment planner and also as an economic analyst. Smith graduated from Colorado State University with a degree in economics. Mej Ellsworth, senior commercial escrow officer/ underwriter with First American Title Insurance NCS, was named the 2014 Iconic Woman at the Commercial Real Estate Women Denver annual Woman of Influence Awards Gala. She is a top producer for First American and an active mentor and community volunteer. CREW Denver also named Karla Nugent, chief business development officer and founding member of Weifield Group Contracting, as the 2014 Emerging Iconic Woman. Stephen B. Sanders is the newest addition to Fidelity National Title’s National Commercial Services division. He joins the firm as senior vice president. Sanders has 30 years’ experience, including commercial title experience as a foreclosure trustee, real estate industrial development manager, real estate paralegal and title plant manager. He will facilitate commercial title and escrow transactions for apartment, retail, industrial, office and other industry sectors across the nation.