You Own It | Real Estate | Property | Real Estate Agents | Realtor | Broker In Charge - 16: Mitch Merin

16: Mitch Merin

08/15/18 • 39 min

Mitchell M. Merin

Mitch spent the majority of his career on Wall Street, holding senior management positions at securities and asset management firms that ranked among the world’s largest. At the time of his retirement in 2005, Mitch led Morgan Stanley Investment Management (MSIM), one of the world's top 20 investment management businesses. He also served on the Management Committee of Morgan Stanley.

During his tenure as Head of MSIM, Mitch led the combination of a variety of disparate businesses into a single, integrated investment management business; increased assets under management; and enhanced the profitability of the business. His most challenging task came after the destruction of the headquarters of the individual investor business in the attacks on the World Trade Center.

Born in Hartford, Connecticut, Mitch attended Trinity College where he received a bachelor’s degree in economics, and then Northwestern University receiving an MBA in finance and accounting. After graduating from Northwestern in 1977, he joined the Chicago office of Touche Ross & Co, and on his first day was assigned to the firm's largest audit client: Sears, Roebuck and Co.

In May of 1981, Mitch joined Sears as a manager of financial analysis. He led the financial team that provided the analysis to support the Sears acquisitions of Dean Witter Reynolds and Coldwell Banker. As Director of Corporate Finance, he worked on the development of the first public offering of securitized credit card receivables and served on the team that divested Sears operations in Latin America and Spain.

Mitch began his securities industry career with Dean Witter in 1986 as Senior Vice President and Group Treasurer, where he continued the effort he initiated at Sears to develop the funding structure of the Discover Card.

In 1994, he was named Executive Vice President and Chief Administrative Officer of this new public company. His role included corporate strategy, and in the fall of 1994 Mitch was asked to develop the strategy and identify companies to transform Dean Witter from a domestic retail securities, asset management and credit card business, to a global firm participating in both retail and institutional markets.

The development of the strategy culminated in 1997 with the merger of Dean Witter, Discover & Co. and Morgan Stanley. Mitch was Co-Head of the merger transition team, leading the Dean Witter portion of the effort. Immediately after the merger, he served as President and CEO of Morgan Stanley Dean Witter Advisors, the Firm's proprietary asset management business serving individual investors

Since his retirement in 2005, Mitch has been a director of both public and private companies. He served on the board of Sun Life Financial, one of Canada’s leading financial services companies, chairing the Governance, Nominating and Investment Oversight Committee. Mitch now serves as an Independent trustee of the JP Morgan Mutual Funds and chairs the Fixed Income Investment Committee of the JP Morgan mutual fund board.

Mitchell M. Merin

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15: Brian Copeland

Brian Copeland runs his own real estate team in Nashville, Tennessee. He was the 2017 President of Tennessee REALTORS and will serve as Vice President for NAR next year. Brian is one of a handful of Community Leadership Circle leaders globally for Facebook and has spent significant time speaking for the company and working at their headquarters in 2017, serving as one of their consultants for their 2018 Hackathon.

Brian was recognized this year as one of the top Social Influencers in the T3 Report and has appeared on Inmans' 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders list numerous times. Brian has appeared on more than 10 real estate reality TV shows on HGTV and The Learning Channel. Brian's biggest joy of his life are his two children. He and his family live on a farm outside of Nashville where they have more than 30 pigs.

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17: John Karnay

In the brokerage of residential real estate, it takes at least 10 years to build a reputation but only one day to lose it. That is why it is important to establish a mutual sense of trust with each person the moment they walk in your door.

Prior to becoming a principal, the CFO, and the Broker of The Grubb Company in 1999, I had already spent twelve years in residential sales and worked in real estate development, restaurant services and marine biology. This broad range of experience has helped me recognize what clients want. I take great pleasure in helping them navigate through their first home buying and selling experiences. In essence, I am selling my emotional intelligence, geographic expertise, and time – a home will sell itself.

When I was growing up in Indiana, my father worked for a steel mill for many years. His work ethic instilled in me the power of the group effort. The Grubb Company embraces that same traditional, old-fashioned, common sense philosophy in everything we do. Many of our agents have been with our company for more than 30 years. This is our ultimate compliment. Everybody at The Grubb Company understands the contribution necessary to maintain an impeccable reputation in the industry.

Using the same business methodology and framework that Donald J. Grubb Sr. established more than 30 years ago, I have worked with D.J. Grubb to expand The Grubb Company into a broad, strategic and healthy firm. Day-to-day, I specialize in educating our agents on how to solve problems and analyze difficult financial transactions to determine the best solutions for our clients. I am the technician that complements D.J.’s marketing savvy. Together we are a very effective team.

When I am not on the residential playing field, you can find me eagerly refereeing youth soccer games throughout the Bay Area. Like any committed coach, my efforts are very comprehensive. I truly enjoy what I do in my home life and at The Grubb Company.