James McKenna

Real Estate Advisor

Colliers

James serves as a real estate advisor specializing in retail real estate with a focus on both landlord and tenant representation. He joined Colliers | Wisconsin in 2021 after graduating from Marquette University where he studied finance and real estate.

Q) What do you enjoy the most about commercial real estate?
A) I love how every day is different. For better for worse, each day presents a new opportunities and challenges that makes it so fun.

Q) What is the best piece of advice you have received?
A) Nobody cares about your excuses.

Q) What is your favorite quote?
A) “If you never try, you’ll never know.” – Coldplay

Q)  Where did you grow up?
A) I grew up in Brookfield, WI, and am proud to be a “double Marquetter”- attending both Marquette High School and Marquette University.

Q) What’s your favorite place to travel to?
A) Ireland. I am fortunate enough to have taken a number of trips to Ireland and look forward to many more.

Q) Which projects are you involved in/most excited about?
A) Generally speaking, my favorite type of project involves helping local businesses. Whether it’s helping someone purchase their first commercial property or open their first store, it is truly fulfilling to know you have made a positive impact in your community regardless of how big the deal is.

Q) If you could have lunch with anyone in the world, who would it be?
A) Winston Churchill

Q) What is a goal you would like to accomplish within your Commercial Real Estate career?
A) At the end of the day, I want to be able to look back and know I did everything I could to make the world a better place. I’m not sure how this will look from a real estate perspective but if I can do this, I will be satisfied.

Q) What do you hope to get out of your NextGen Experience?
A) Generally speaking, I am hoping to learn as much as possible. Becoming as knowledgeable as possible has been one of the main focuses, if not the biggest focus, for me at the early stage of my career. One thing I really enjoy about CARW is meeting people with different backgrounds. For example, it is not often that I speak with people from other sectors of the commercial real estate industry such as lawyers, property managers, developers, etc.… It seems that the more I learn about other aspects of commercial real estate, the more knowledgeable and effective I can become as a broker. I think that the NextGen program provides an excellent opportunity to help me a better professional and elevate my career.