Hessam Nadji, President and CEO of Marcus & Millichap, joins Brandon Sedloff to share his remarkable journey from immigrating to the United States from Iran to leading one of the largest commercial real estate brokerage firms in the country. Hessam reflects on the formative experiences that shaped his career, how an entry-level data entry role at Grubb & Ellis sparked a lifelong passion for research and analytics, and why he believed early on that commercial real estate would evolve from a relationship-driven business into a consultative, data-informed profession. The conversation explores Marcus & Millichap’s growth, the firm's enduring focus on serving private clients, and how technology, AI, and changing market dynamics are reshaping the future of commercial real estate.
They discuss:
• Hessam’s immigration story, family entrepreneurship roots, and unconventional path into commercial real estate
• How research, analytics, and consultative selling transformed brokerage and created new opportunities for advisors
• The evolution of Marcus & Millichap’s private client and institutional businesses, including the creation of Institutional Property Advisors (IPA)
• How AI is changing brokerage, data analysis, client service, and the future role of commercial real estate professionals
• Why current market uncertainty may be creating attractive opportunities across commercial real estate asset classes
• The long-term outlook for supply, capital allocation, and wealth creation through commercial real estate investing
Topics:
(00:00:00) - Intro
(00:02:19) - Hessam’s background and career
(00:22:01) - The journey to becoming CEO of Marcus & Millichap
(00:36:38) - The state of the firm in 2026
(00:47:05) - The structural changes happening in the market
(00:52:28) - Shallow buyer supply
(00:54:18) - Most misunderstood concepts about CRE as an asset class
Links:
Hessam on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/hessam-nadji/
Marcus & Millichap - https://www.marcusmillichap.com/
Juniper Square - https://www.junipersquare.com/
Brandon on LinkedIn - https://www.linkedin.com/in/brandonsedloff/
