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Ken's Story

The Tenant Rep Broker who Teaches Real Estate Directors, Works to Advance the Industry, and optimizes outcomes.

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Empowering Executives to Optimize Outcomes

Ken Ashley knows how much is at stake when a company signs a lease or buys a building. He will remind you, “The biggest risk in office real estate is not making the wrong move. It’s believing there are no better options.” Throughout his career as an Office Tenant Rep at Cushman & Wakefield since 1996, Ken has aligned with executives, turning complex office requirements into strategic opportunities.

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​​His path to the industry was anything but direct. Before discovering tenant rep work, a man with a passion for solving problems and creating opportunities, he served as a university police officer, part-time firefighter, cash-register salesman, and then the founder and chief financial officer of a landscape architecture business.

It was in his role as CFO where he was faced with the realities of running a business, balancing cash flow, managing risk, and making decisions that would shape the company’s future. When his company sold a building and hired a tenant rep broker to lease office space, Ken viewed the decision as an unavoidable necessity.

At lease execution, his perspective changed. Ken walked away not only having saved money and improved the office space, but with more engaged employees, increased profitability, and outcomes optimized for the business. Ken had experienced firsthand how a skilled tenant representative could step in and change the trajectory of not just a company but of lives.  It was at that moment that Ken knew this was the kind of purpose and power, office tenant representation, that he wanted to commit his life to. 

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He learned it. He mastered it. He did it. 

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Turning a Daunting Headquarters Hunt into a Porsche Victory

One of Ken Ashley’s signature achievements came when Porsche Cars North America set out to consolidate its core business units into a new U.S. headquarters. What initially appeared to be an impossible dream, with Ken and team’s vision, connections, and expert strategy, turned into a landmark project that revitalized Atlanta’s south side.
case study here

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Not just a dealmaker: teaching, mentoring and civic leadership

Ken isn’t just a dealmaker; he’s an educator and community leader.  

He teaches the CoreNet Advanced Lease Analysis course and sees training as essential in a field that has evolved from the old “blacksmith” mentoring model to a technology‑driven discipline. Ken warns newcomers not to “hide behind being busy”; building relationships with business executives and practicing servant leadership are what ultimately move the needle. 

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He has earned his CCIM designation and is a member of the leading industry organization, CoreNet Global, where he serves as a regular speaker for global directors of real estate. He has also earned the CoreNet Global designation Master of Corporate Real Estate (MCR) and has been awarded “top rated faculty” multiple times. Ken is past chair of the C&W Tenant Advisory Group in 2019-2020 which is a “top gun” organization of the best of the best at his company. He chaired the 2018 class of Leadership Atlanta.

Last but not least, driven by his passion for community, connectivity, and learning, in 2020 Ken founded CREi, a movement and annual summit focused on helping commercial real estate professionals leverage digital marketing, social media to build their brand, network, and generate business, creating a community for sharing best practices and fostering connections.

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An avid supporter of his community, Ken serves on the Board of the Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts, Atlanta Police Crime Stoppers, and Vice President Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps. Additionally, Ken Chairs the Fulton County Sheriff's Foundation and Invest Atlanta Foundation.

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Ken and his wife Karen have four children and live in Dunwoody, Georgia.  He credits his father for imparting the key lesson to “keep plenty of hay in the barn”.

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Turning Complexity Into Advantage

Ken Ashley turns complex requirements into strategic opportunities.  His winding career path, rigorous professional training, client‑first mindset and commitment to mentorship and civic leadership distinguish him as one of commercial real estate’s consummate tenant‑representation brokers.

Today, with 3 decades of experience in Office Tenant Rep, Ken Ashley is the broker who aligns executives to ensure workplaces that inspire, operations that move with maximum efficiency, and environments where people do their best work.

Affiliations

  • Member, Society of Industrial and Office Realtors, 2009 Georgia Chapter President

  • Top-rated Faculty at CoreNet Global eight times

  • Garnered CoreNet "Luminary" designation, as well as top-rated speaker award

  • Earned Masters of Commercial Real Estate designation from CoreNet

Awards & Recognition

  • Top 100 producer at Cushman & Wakefield

  • 23-Year Phoenix Member of the Atlanta Commercial Board of REALTORS® Million Dollar Club

  • 2007, 2008, and 2011 Atlanta Deal of the Year, Cushman & Wakefield

  • 2011 Deal of the Year, Atlanta Business Chronicle

  • 2012, top office producer for Atlanta

Community Involvement

  • Board Member, Leadership Atlanta

  • Serves on Board of Directors and Executive Committee of Atlanta Area Council of the Boy Scouts

  • Member of the National Properties Committee of the BSA

  • Recipient of the Silver Beaver Award from BSA (Highest award a volunteer can receive)

  • Atlanta Police Foundation “Crime Stoppers” Board

  • Spirit of Atlanta Drum & Bugle Corps Board

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