Supercharging a Family Business with Daniel Klein, President of Klein Enterprises

08/24/22 • 25 min

When Daniel Klein’s grandfather told him the family business needed him, he couldn’t say no. He took a pay cut, moved home, and started learning every component of building a healthy, recession-proof commercial real estate company. Fast forward twenty years later, and Klein has led the company to amass a $2 billion real estate portfolio. Listen as he shares a philosophical approach to the in’s and out’s of growing and managing a family business.

Highlights include:

Positioning a family business for exponential growth.
Handling the challenges of working in a family business.
The “Forrest Gump” approach to commercial real estate deals.

Do you like this episode? Let us know at [email protected]!
ABOUT THE GUEST

Daniel Klein serves as President of Klein Enterprises, a 4th generation developer, owner, and operator of commercial real estate throughout the Mid-Atlantic Region. Daniel first began his career in real estate working with the maintenance crews of his grandfather’s shopping centers in 1996, eventually transitioning to the brokerage and investment side. Daniel officially joined Klein Enterprises in June 2004 and continued to master all aspects of the business including acquisitions, development, financing, leasing and management.

In his role as President, Daniel is responsible for the company’s overall performance, managing financing and capital raising, leasing, asset management, development & acquisitions. Daniel runs the Company each day with a focus on optimizing the performance of the existing portfolio while implementing a strategy for longer term growth.

Daniel graduated from Boston University with a BS in Communication and a concentration in Economics. Daniel holds a Real Estate Salesperson’s License in Maryland. Also, Daniel serves as a member of YPO (Young President’s Organization), the International Council of Shopping Center (ICSC) and the Urban Land Institute (ULI). Additionally, Daniel served on the Board of Trustees and Chaired the Facilities Committee for the Park School, acted as a member of the Board of Directors for the University of Baltimore Foundation, and currently serves on both the Board of Directors and the Board of Governors of The Associated (the Jewish Community Federation of Baltimore).

Bio courtesy of Klein Enterprises.

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at [email protected] to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.
Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

Our website (www.AYStrauss.com)
Aaron's website bio page (Aaron's bio page)
Aaron's LinkedIn account (LinkedIn)
Our Twitter account (@AYStrauss)

Highlights include:

Positioning a family business for exponential growth.
Handling the challenges of working in a family business.
The “Forrest Gump” approach to commercial real estate deals.

Do you like this episode? Let us know at [email protected]!
ABOUT THE GUEST

Bio courtesy of Klein Enterprises.

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at [email protected] to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.
Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

Our website (www.AYStrauss.com)
Aaron's website bio page (Aaron's bio page)
Aaron's LinkedIn account (LinkedIn)
Our Twitter account (@AYStrauss)

Previous Episode

From Tax Attorney to Leading a Publicly Traded Real Estate Company, with John T. Thomas, President & CEO of Physicians Realty Trust

Before law school, John T. Thomas knew he wanted to get to Wall Street. However, he could never have anticipated that one day he would be ringing the bell and taking a company public. On this episode of The Dealmakers’ Edge, Mr. Thomas sits down with managing partner Aaron Strauss and walks him through what can only be described as an incredible career in the commercial real estate sector. Now at the helm of a $6 Billion healthcare real estate leader, Thomas takes listeners through the challenges, triumphs, and realities of making it to the highest level of leadership in the commercial real estate sector.

Highlights include:

Transitioning from an attorney to an executive.
Testifying before Congress on healthcare reform.
Getting tapped to take a company public.
Focusing on culture to go from $135 million to over $6 billion in assets.

Let us know what you think at [email protected].

ABOUT THE GUEST

Since 2013, John T. Thomas has served as the President & CEO of Physicians Realty Trust (NYSE:DOC). He also serves on their Board and is a member of the Finance and Investment Committee.

His prior leadership roles include serving as Executive Vice President-Medical Facilities Group for Welltower Inc. (NYSE: WELL, formerly known as Health Care REIT Inc.); as President, Chief Development Officer and Business Counsel of Cirrus Health; and as Senior Vice President and General Counsel for Baylor Health Care System in Dallas, Texas.

While at Baylor, Mr. Thomas was responsible for managing legal and government affairs. His work included advocating for Texas H.B. 3 and Proposition 12, the 2003 Texas legislative and constitutional amendment efforts to increase patient access to physicians and care through reforming State medical malpractice laws. He co-founded the Coalition for Affordable and Reliable Healthcare, a national coalition to reform medical malpractice laws through federal legislation and also served as the Coalition’s chairman.

Mr. Thomas has testified before the U.S. House of Representatives and a subcommittee of the U.S. Senate’s Homeland Security Committee on matters related to healthcare policy. His experience also includes serving as General Counsel and Secretary for Unity Health System, a five-hospital division of the Sisters of Mercy Health System (St. Louis, MO). In that role, Mr. Thomas oversaw legal affairs for the organization and its subsidiaries.

His career began in private practice as a tax lawyer for Milbank, Tweed, Hadley & McCoy (New York, NY) before moving to Sonnenschein, Nath & Rosenthal (now Dentons) where he was elected partner.

Mr. Thomas received his J.D. from Vanderbilt University Law School and his B.S. in Economics from Jacksonville State University, where he graduated with Distinction and Special Honors in Economics. He currently serves on the Board of Trustees for the Jacksonville State University Foundation. He was a previous member of the Board of Directors of Education Realty Trust, Inc. (NYSE: EDR) from 2016 to 2018.

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at [email protected] to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.
Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

Our website (www.AYStrauss.com)
Aaron's website bio page (Aaron's bio page)
Aaron's LinkedIn account (LinkedIn)
Our Twitter account (@AYStrauss)

Next Episode

Mastering Workspace As A Service, with Jamie Hodari, CEO & Co-founder of Industrious

On this episode of The Dealmakers’ Edge, Jamie Hodari sits down with managing partner Aaron Strauss to discuss starting a flexspace industry leader, his mental edge for negotiations, and the pioneering way Industrious looks at the future of work.

Highlights include:

How a dirty conference room table & IKEA led to innovation.
The key questions for an early-stage entrepreneur to ask.
The future of Flex workspace.
Jamie’s top recommendations for keeping a mental edge.

Like this episode? Tell us at [email protected].
ABOUT THE GUEST

Jamie Hodari is the co-founder and CEO of Industrious – one of the leading professional coworking & office flexspace companies in the world. As of September 2022, Industrious has over 150 locations across more than 65 cities, from London to Singapore to New York City and everywhere in between.

Jamie is a graduate of Columbia University, Harvard University, and Yale Law School. His career began as a reporter for The Times of India before a brief stint in private practice at Sullivan & Cromwell. In 2011, he co-founded his first startup—Kepler Kigali—which focused on affordable education programs. Soon after, he co-founded Industrious with longtime friend Justin Stewart and managed both companies simultaneously for a short period.

Industrious has been recognized by Forbes as one of America’s 500 fastest growing companies and special recognition in the “Best Startup Employers” category. A privately-held company, Industrious has secured strategic partnerships with major industry players that include CBRE, Wells Fargo, and Equinox.

Enjoy the show? Have a guest in mind? Email us at [email protected] to let us know your feedback and who you want to hear on the next episode.
Connect with Aaron and the A.Y. Strauss team:

Our website (www.AYStrauss.com)
Aaron's website bio page (Aaron's bio page)
Aaron's LinkedIn account (LinkedIn)
Our Twitter account (@AYStrauss)

The Dealmakers’ Edge with A.Y. Strauss - Supercharging a Family Business with Daniel Klein, President of Klein Enterprises

Transcript

Aaron:

Today, I want to welcome our very esteemed guest. It’s an old friend of mine, Daniel Klein. He’s the president of Klein Enterprises, a fourth-generation developer, owner and operator of commercial real estate through the mid-Atlantic region. In his role as president, Daniel is responsible for the company’s overall performance managing debt and equity leasing, asset management, development, acquisitions, with the primary focus on sustaining the company’s ex