Billion-dollar Tampa real estate firm to expand nationally with new hire

Franklin Street, a commercial real estate firm founded in Tampa in 2006, is stacking its c-suite in anticipation of expanding its presence on a national level. Jess Johnson is joining the company as chief revenue officer.  

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“Jess is a strategic leader with a proven record of success across many aspects of business growth, from winning key clients to increasing geographic reach to securing value-driven partnerships, which are exactly what we need as we push to a national platform,” says Andrew Wright, CEO and Chairman of Franklin Street. “We’ve assembled a talented executive team capable of strategically expanding our reach throughout high-growth and opportunistic markets.” 

Johnson previously held roles as the global head of enterprise partnerships for HqO and executive vice president at Savills, which expanded from $17 million to $50 million in revenue in four years during his tenure. 

His appointment comes nine months after Franklin Street appointed its chief marketing officer, Monetha Cobb. The two are part of 34 senior leadership hires, a wave of new additions that began in 2022, according to a statement.  

Franklin Street has been involved in $5.2 billion dollars worth of sales over the last 10 years, according to data provided by CoStar,a real estate analytics company. It encompasses seven business divisions, including investment sales, tenant and landlord representation, capital advisory, insurance, property management and project management.