Kurt Little celebrating 30 years at JLL.
Sub Omnibus Terra - That is Latin for 'under all is the land.' It was the motto at LaSalle Partners' Land Group where Greenleaf founder, John Andersen, worked with Greenleaf Board Member Kurt Little. This year on July 22nd, Kurt completed 30 years of service at this global real estate services firm now known as JLL (Jones Lang LaSalle). At his anniversary celebration, stories were told by colleagues from around the world of the many contributions Kurt has made to clients and societies addressing land utilization, as often as possible doing so with a strong sustainability ethic embedded in the solutions. Because land is central to real estate assets and services, the Land Group's sustainability initiatives started a movement at JLL that is now core to many of its services.
This summer Greenleaf interns, Will Carey and Jamie Passaglia, spoke with Kurt and other Greenleaf board members and partners to learn a bit about land and what brought these seasoned experts to work with it. Below is a brief profile.
Kurt Little's land ethic grew from his childhood experiences on a farm in Michigan - providing the basis for his work in real estate: “the ability to look at a land tract, understand topography and drainage, look at natural assets on those properties, and then incorporate those issues into a development plan was always intriguing,” he says. Like other members of Greenleaf’s network, Kurt has the capacity to understand specific environmental issues in the context of bigger systems. He takes a broader look at development, guiding his work by asking “how do you leverage certain green methodologies out there to deliver and drive value or savings to your clients?” It is an ethic that runs throughout Greenleaf's board members and partners.