SPIRE Announces Andy Walburger as the new Executive Director
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SPIRE Names New Executive Director
You could say that Andy Walburger’s blood runs Cardinal. The 2000 Stanford graduate may be located in Southern California, but he’s a Stanford man through and through.
“I put my Stanford flag out every game day,” he says.
Now Andy Walburger is about to do even more: He’s the new permanent Executive Director of Stanford Professionals In Real Estate.
“I'm delighted and extremely excited regarding Andy Walburger taking the reigns. He will be a tremendous asset to the organization and will shepherd us to the next level in our development and growth,” says Chad Hagle (‘98), SPIRE Co-Founder, Board Member and President.
Mr. Walburger steps up to SPIRE from his previous position as Senior Vice President and Principal of Lee & Associates of Newport Beach, the largest broker-owned full service commercial real estate brokerage firm in the United States.
Mr. Walburger played an active role in SPIRE’s development and growth from the beginning. As a co-founder of SPIRE, he rallied local membership as the Southern California Regional Director and then served as the organization’s Treasurer prior to accepting the full-time Executive Director position.
“It is especially meaningful to have one of the original founders of the organization step from a volunteer leadership capacity, since the inception of the organization, into such a paramount role. It is a bright future for SPIRE,” says Mr. Hagle.
Mr. Walburger, who officially stepped into his new office on Dec. 15, says his first priority is to engage and connect with the membership.
“Our number one objective is to engage the membership at large and to help them have greater impact in their own real estate careers,” he says. “Whether they are an architect in Northern California or a developer in Shanghai or an asset manager in Chicago, it’s our opportunity to help them network with one another and to enlist the resources of other members.”
“Bottom line,” says the new SPIRE executive director, “it all comes down to the people. Just like on campus, it is the people that make our organization tremendous.”
He also sees SPIRE assisting Stanford students, whether undergrads or graduate students. “We want to help students see the potential career opportunities in real estate and then to help connect with real estate professionals across the country.”
Mr. Walburger comes to SPIRE with a decade of experience as a commercial real estate broker specializing in industrial, R&D, flex, and office properties in the greater Southern California marketplace. As a partner in his office, he worked on a wide array of projects including asset disposition, leasing new developments, tenant representation and investments.
While on the Farm as an undergraduate, Mr. Walburger was an All-American and a member of Stanford’s NCAA championship water polo team. Mr. Walburger is married to a Stanford graduate Madeleine, class of 1999. The eldest of their four children is just ten – still pre-Stanford.
Mr. Walburger takes over from Ron Sonntag, who had been interim executive director.
“Ron stepped up big time in a very critical period for SPIRE and carried the Executive Director mantle with diligence and dedication. The SREC and Real Estate Hall of Fame would not have been a reality without his major contributions at the helm of the organization,” says Mr. Hagle.
“Mr. Sonntag did an incredible job in organizing the Hall of Fame dinners in Palo Alto and Los Angeles” says Mr. Walburger. The dinners honored industry luminaries Bill Wilson, founder of Wilson Meany Sullivan, and Don Koll, founder of The Koll Company.
He also praised Mr. Sonntag’s role in organizing the Stanford Real Estate Council conference. “It was at the highest level of quality both of individuals and of subject matter,” Mr. Walburger says.
“I look forward to 2012,” says Mr. Walburger. “Yes, SPIRE has a full slate of high-caliber events and programming – but I am most excited to get out there and work with our incredible members.”
