Spotlight On: Clark Dean, Executive Managing Director, Transwestern
September 2024 — In an interview with Focus:, Clark Dean, executive managing director of Transwestern, highlighted the company’s recent achievements in Atlanta, including innovative projects across various sectors, expanding its healthcare reach, and fostering community engagement through new initiatives and strategic partnerships.
What are some recent key achievements for Transwestern in Atlanta?
Over the last 12 to 18 months, we’ve launched several exciting projects across different business lines. The real estate market, especially in the office sector, has faced challenges post-COVID, but we’re seeing shifting perspectives among leadership at major companies. Recognizing the organizational disconnection caused by extended periods of virtual and hybrid work, they’re focusing on creating environments that stimulate productivity and foster stronger relationships within their organizations. Our work integrates management consulting, corporate finance, and real estate, and we collaborate closely with senior leaders to position their companies for success. In addition to our work in office spaces, we’ve been involved in advanced manufacturing and international distribution projects, such as with EAE, a Turkish company with innovative electrical distribution products. This sector is growing, especially due to the increasing demands of hyperscale data centers.
We’ve also expanded our work with hospital systems and healthcare resources, not just in Atlanta and across the state, but nationwide. There’s strong demand in life sciences, where we’ve been involved in everything from efforts to expand multi-omics research to biomanufacturing. We’re also taking on mixed-use development projects, where we’re integrating retail, hospitality, restaurants, office spaces, and residential areas into cohesive environments that encourage connection and community. We believe real estate is not just about “location, location, location”, but about “people, people, people”—creating environments where people want to be together.
How does Transwestern view its role in the communities it serves?
We see ourselves as more than just a real estate company; we’re here to help build businesses, grow nonprofits, and enrich communities. While our expertise lies in real estate, our broader responsibility is to lead the communities we serve, ensuring these organizations succeed and contribute positively to the lives of the people living there. That’s how real value is created, and it’s something we find incredibly rewarding.
How do global partnerships enhance your tenant advisory and workplace solution services?
We’re fortunate to have some outstanding global partners, like BNP Paribas Real Estate, which is our main overseas partner. I help lead that alliance, and it’s been incredibly fulfilling. We spend a lot of time understanding global business trends and connecting companies around the world to create value. Real estate tends to be hyper-local, which has its benefits, but it can also lead to insular thinking. By partnering globally, we gain a broader perspective, allowing us to apply innovative concepts developed in the United States to entities overseas and vice versa.
For instance, BNP Paribas Real Estate is part of a global banking and financial institution, which offers capabilities beyond typical real estate services. This often unlocks exciting opportunities that many of our clients benefit from. In general, there’s a lot to learn from different cultures, and bringing that global energy, creativity, and innovation into local markets helps us better serve clients who are attracting top global talent. Atlanta, for example, has embraced its international diversity, reflecting a fusion of global and local innovation that plays out not only in our business and commerce but in our dynamic food scene. This global perspective enriches the city and helps contribute to this community and its ability to attract and retain talent.
How is Transwestern leveraging technology and data analytics to enhance its services and outcomes for clients?
My background is in biomedical engineering, so I’ve always been a big believer in analytics. Over a decade ago, we started a practice group at Transwestern called the Transaction Sciences Group, which focuses on using advanced analytics to drive better real estate solutions. Real estate markets are often perceived as liquid and efficient, but they are neither, which creates arbitrage opportunities. To capture these, we employ stochastic modeling, algorithmic optimization, and predictive analytics.
A key principle for us is that averages lie. Real estate metrics based on averages, like average market rent or occupancy, often obscure the true picture. Instead, we analyze markets at a micro level, assessing the specific value propositions of spaces and the unique goals of investors and tenants. We also delve into the science of how people experience space, using principles of neuroscience to help design environments that enhance human performance. By combining a deep understanding of both analytics and human behavior, we can create real estate solutions that drive better outcomes for all parties involved.
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What makes Atlanta and the region a great place for Transwestern to thrive and grow?
I’m not originally from Atlanta, but coming here has given me a unique perspective. Atlanta is a city that welcomes you with open arms. If you’re passionate about helping to shape the vision of a better Atlanta, there’s a place for you here. The city feels like a small town within a big city—it’s not isolated, but rather a vibrant community with a lot of cultural and economic diversity. We have leading businesses in a broad spectrum of sectors, from logistics with companies like UPS to consumer products with Coca-Cola and Georgia-Pacific, and financial technology businesses that help clear over 75% of all electronic transactions in the U.S. This diversity is one of Atlanta’s strengths.
Additionally, Atlanta is home to significant global health organizations like the CDC, the Carter Center, Task Force for Global Health, and CARE which have been crucial contributors worldwide, especially during the pandemic. There’s also a strong nonprofit sector with institutions like the Shepherd Center and the Metro Atlanta YMCA, which contribute significantly to the community. What stands out most to me about Atlanta is the authentic connections people make here. The city fosters relationships that are both personal and professional, creating a community that cares about building a better future together.
One unique organization that convenes leadership in our city is the Rotary Club of Atlanta, where top city leaders gather weekly, demonstrating the city’s commitment to community, collaboration, and economic progress. In a world that can feel fractured, Atlanta stands out as a place where people genuinely care about each other and work together to create a thriving community.
What are your top priorities and outlook for Transwestern over the next few years?
Our focus as a business is on understanding both the user and investor communities to provide value beyond just real estate. This means helping build businesses, grow nonprofits, and enrich communities. One of our key priorities is expanding our capabilities in sectors like healthcare, which require specialized infrastructure and technology and that directly contribute to the well-being of communities. We’re committed to bringing these services into more areas in a cost-effective way.
On the office side, we’re rethinking what the office of the future looks like and how urban and suburban areas will evolve. There are big questions around redevelopment and future development in these spaces, and we aim to play a positive role in shaping those outcomes. We see clustering and mixed-use developments, particularly involving innovative food and beverage experiences, as ways to bring people together and build relationships.
In the industrial sector, technology is transforming the supply chain, and we’re working on understanding how these changes will affect the types of jobs available and the communities that grow around industrial real estate. Transportation infrastructure is also a critical area where we’re looking to contribute to the future of how people and products move across the country.
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