Board Member Focus: Kellam Nelson
Kellam Nelson is a tenant representation specialist who is passionate about making sure San Francisco and the entire Bay Area remains one of the greatest places to live and work in the world. As Vice President of Occupier Services at Colliers International, he is on the front lines of that battle while helping his clients make the most advantageous location decisions. “Obviously, we have huge problems today locally, nationally and globally, so I find myself incredibly energized when it comes to making the type of changes that will help us maintain our competitive edge as a community and city,” Nelson said. “Whether its voting, community activism, volunteering within organizations like NAIOP, or just having conversations with peers and colleagues, it’s an incredibly important time to be openminded and proactive to help shape the future.”
Nelson works on Colliers’ Bay Area Occupier Services team which includes 23 producers and 10 support staff with an exclusive focus on tenant representation and occupier services for companies based in the Bay Area. Their client list is comprised of tenants headquartered or with significant presence in the Bay Area and includes some of the most prolific companies in the world. The majority of them are office and life science users, however, many also maintain R&D, warehouse and production facilities. “I get to work with tremendous leaders and entrepreneurs of some of the most exciting and dynamic global brands,” he said. “It’s incredibly rewarding to support these extraordinary people and companies in a way that impacts their personal missions and goals, which will certainly shape the future in ways much greater than I could on my own.”
With many of their clients exploring markets outside of the Bay Area to take advantage of lower costs, from both a real estate and labor perspective, Nelson finds himself in the interesting situation of partnering with economic development teams in other cities to learn about the business ecosystems of each region. While he embraces the opportunity to broaden his skills with this valuable experience, he remains confident about the Bay Area’s appeal and his career here.
Nelson’s other current focus is on assisting clients evaluate their Bay Area / headquarter portfolios. “As most companies recognize the uncertainty in the marketplace and shift their workplace strategies, they are taking the opportunity to drive deeper discussions with their executive teams,” he said. “These opportunities include rethinking their remote working policies, evaluating the distribution of their office locations, evaluating employee benefits and workplace perks/programs, among other things”.
A current member of the Chapter Board of Directors, and Co-Chair of the Young Professionals Group (YPG) Alumni Committee, Nelson has been actively involved in NAIOP SFBA since 2015. He participated in the YPG Program in 2016 and immediately began to serve on YPG Alumni Committee upon graduating. He was then elevated to Co-Chair of the Alumni Committee in 2018 and appointed to the Board in 2020. “I highly value the tremendous community and group of people that contribute to the organization,” he said. “I joined NAIOP to expand my network into new areas of Corporate Real Estate and am extremely grateful to work with so many amazing professionals. NAIOP is a tremendous organization with outstanding focus on providing the greater real estate community with programs, events and community activism.”
In terms of advice for young people getting started in the business, Nelson encourages them to always take advantage of the opportunity to learn from or work with someone new. “Put yourself out there and volunteer for every opportunity that comes your way,” he said. “Relationships and experience are everything in this profession, so it’s critical to develop them by exposing yourself to new people and new opportunities as much as you can.”
On the personal front, Nelson was born in Sonoma County in a small town called Bloomfield just outside of Sebastopol. He later moved with his family to San Anselmo in 1995, where he was raised and his parents still live today. These days he lives in San Francisco with his girlfriend. They are currently looking for a new apartment as they decided to travel a bit since October but are excited to continue to live in San Francisco moving forward as he is confident it will remain a world class city.
Nelson loves living an active lifestyle and is passionate about hiking, running, and playing sports like golf. He also an avid sports fan and a life-long fan of the San Francisco Giants and the 49ers. A graduated from the University of Oregon, he is also a die-hard Ducks fan!
