Jess Johnson serves as Chief Revenue Officer for Franklin Street at the firm’s headquarters in Tampa, Fla. In his role, Jess provides leadership to the firm’s integrated business lines on client experience and new business initiatives, oversees training and development activities, and plays a leading role in data and cross-servicing initiatives.
Jess is a commercial real estate advisor and technologist who has led business development, strategic consulting, and real estate brokerage teams at advisory businesses ranging from boutique to global over the last 15 years. Throughout his career, Jess has served the real estate needs of global businesses with his practice spanning portfolio strategy, M&A advisory, occupancy analysis and forecasting, real estate and workplace experience, organizational and process streamlining, and business intelligence and analytics for both public- and private-sector real estate clients.
Prior to joining Franklin Street, Jess led the real estate consulting practice at Tampa-based Vertical Integration, assisting in the eventual sale of the firm to global services provider Savills in 2015. At Savills, Jess led business development efforts for a global team of tenant specialists, helping grow the multi-geography, multi-service practice from $17 million to more than $50 million annually in 4 years. Jess also led go-to-market efforts for Savills client-facing technology platform, Knowledge Cubed, combining data and technology products with tenant representation and other advisory services.
Jess has been a leader in the use of data and technology to enhance real estate experience and optimize real estate decision-making. While spearheading enterprise sales at proptech firm HqO, Jess hosted the Real Estate Experience Forum in locations across the United States, bringing together leading owners, operators and occupiers of commercial real estate to share cutting-edge approaches to improving people’s experience of real estate.
Jess’ work has been published in the Corporate Real Estate Journal and the Journal of AI, Robotics, and Workplace Automation, and he has been a regular presenter at industry thought-leadership events hosted by RealComm, CREtech, CoreNet Global, the Commercial Observer, among others.
Outside of the real estate industry, Jess is president of the University of Florida Alumni Association, where he leads UF’s 90+ Gator Clubs & Affiliate Groups globally comprising more than 485,000 alumni; is the chairman of St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School in Tampa; and was treasurer and a founding board member of two public charter high schools in Tampa serving students who had previously dropped out of high school and helping them get back on track for a fully accredited high school diploma.
ACCOLADES
· Small Business of the Year, Finalist – Greater Tampa Chamber of Commerce, 2014
· Outstanding Young Alumnus – University of Florida Division of Student Affairs, 2012
· Global Innovator’s Award Finalist – CoreNet Global, 2011
· Up & Comers, Under 30 – Tampa Bay Business Journal, 2011
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
· Board Member & President – University of Florida Alumni Association, 2014, 2024
· Board Chairman – St. Mary’s Episcopal Day School
· Class XXXIII Former Board Member, Leadership Florida
· Hyde Park United Methodist Church
EDUCATION
· University of Florida, Master of Science in Real Estate
· University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Business Administration – Finance
· University of Florida, Bachelor of Science in Journalism
