Interview with A.J. Dorn, Managing Director at Newmark Los Angeles

Enaia equips top-performing CRE brokers and their teams with the technology they need to succeed against their competition. As a part of our Broker Highlight series, we interview Enaia users across various career-stages who are at the top of their game to gain insights into what qualities and best practices comprise elite CRE brokers.

A.J . Dorn won the Newmark Rising Star Award in 2019 and 2020. He was the youngest office leasing broker to earn the "Managing Director" title at Newmark in the Los Angeles region at 31 years old. He also received the Connect CRE NextGen Award in 2025.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and what you do.

I assist growing organizations with real estate planning and site selection in Los Angeles and across the country. For the last decade, my focus has been on occupiers in the Tech, Entertainment, and Venture Capital sectors. While most of my work is in Los Angeles, I also handle multi-market clients across the U.S. and recently completed projects internationally. Being in Los Angeles, the entertainment capital of the world, my team has a particular emphasis on advising companies within that sector, including many more specialized studio requirements.

How did you get into CRE brokerage?

I started in sales at an early-stage Santa Monica tech-startup right out of college and quickly realized I wanted a career that was more lucrative with freedom over my day-to-day. I was basically cold calling dental offices all day and got burnt-out pretty quickly with the amount of deals I had to close in a month to make a livable wage. Real estate had always been in the background—my dad has been a commercial broker for 40+ years (although he didn’t do tenant rep), so I grew up going around property tours with him and checking out buildings. I got my license while still at the startup and jumped into brokerage after a year. I loved the idea of running my own business while building long-term client relationships and having more control over my weekly schedule.

Do you remember the first deal you ever closed?

In my first year at Newmark I was not doing tenant rep. I was cold calling net-leased properties since that is what my team did. I ended up selling a Jack in the Box in Bakersfield at a record cap rate, a lead I got from cold calls. I stumbled my way through escrow and even let the seller take advantage of me on the commission to get the listing since I was so anxious to get my first sale listing. I didn’t know any better at the time and was anxious to get my first listing. The deal taught me persistence and gave me my first “win”.

Do you remember any valuable advice you got early on?

Always put client’s interests before your own. In a commission-only career it’s tempting to close deals when you get close, but I’ve walked clients away from deals that didn’t feel right—even after months of work. Those decisions created life-long clients and led to future referrals, proving that long-term trust is far more valuable than any “one-off” deal closing.

What was the first major success you had when you felt like your career "clicked"?

By my third year I was building momentum, my annual income was growing and more stable. During that year, I was engaged to help a flex office provider that was expanding in LA complete over 100,000 SF of leases in 2019. That stretch showed me that hard work and consistent business development could sustain real success in this business. They were originally working with another firm in LA, and we shared the business, but by going above and beyond they eventually pivoted to just working with us. Little did I know what 2020 was about to bring to us office-focused brokers, but I remember that year really giving me the self-confidence I needed to keep building.

Tell us about your brokerage work now

Every week is different—and that’s what I love about my business. I spend my time moving deals forward, leading site tours, negotiating proposals, and running building comparisons to find the best fit for each client. One week I’m with a tech startup or VC in Santa Monica, the next I’m with an entertainment company looking for studio space in Culver City or Burbank. A lot of our work is for entertainment companies that often seek more specialized studio style spaces, not your typical office space a law firm or insurance company might use. This requires a specialized knowledge of their buildout needs, the costs associated with these items and a deep understanding of the entertainment landscape, as we track spaces that have valuable infrastructure in place to save our clients money. 

When I’m not in the field, I’m building new prospect lists and driving business development. That is one of my favorite aspects of the business–I am always thinking of new companies to call when I am driving around week to week. 

I’m born and raised in LA, but it's such a massive city that my role keeps me exploring—and clients often lead me to parts of the city I don’t know. The weeks fly by faster when I’m touring instead of sitting at a computer. I love trying new hole-in-the-wall restaurants when I am touring in parts of the city I don’t usually hang out in. We have some of the best food in the world here in LA!

What is unique about your market, Los Angeles?

LA isn’t just one market—it’s a patchwork of micro-markets. The Westside is full of creative users (more media, tech, entertainment), the South Bay is booming with aerospace, defense and a “hard tech” ecosystem. Downtown is mostly dominated by law and finance, and the Valley is more cost-effective with a wide range of professional uses. Geography and commuting also play a huge role—parking is at a premium, and tenants naturally cluster where their industries thrive.

What is your most memorable closed deal? 

In 2022, I represented a family office in leasing 30,000 SF in downtown Santa Monica on a very unique building. The landlord was negotiating with a multi-billion dollar publicly traded apparel company, who seemed like a lock as they had been negotiating on it for a couple months prior to us touring. I followed up with the landlord broker daily until they gave us an opening, as their other deal was moving slower than the landlord liked. Moving at lightning speed, we streamlined negotiations and in the end I secured the space for my client and beat out a global brand. It was one of the most meaningful, and stressful, transactions of my career. My client took the space which was already one of the nicest I have ever seen and made it even more special and unique–it is quite the compound.

Do you have a most memorable deal that died? 

This is an easy one for me to land on; early in my first year of tenant rep, I was helping a London-based tech client expand into LA. We were deep into negotiations on a record-setting lease for a penthouse at 1299 Ocean, which was one of the premier buildings in Santa Monica when the building sold (we knew EQ office had it on the market but I assumed any new buyer would be excited to receive a record breaking rent). Little did I know that the new owner, Douglas Emmett, our largest landlord in the city, intended to occupy the top floors for their own corporate HQ, and killed my deal upon closing escrow. It was devastating at the time (especially since that commission would have changed my life back then), but the client stuck with me and is still a long-term account we’ve done business with nationwide. We found them an alternative space but I remember that deal like it was yesterday.

What advice do you have for new brokers? 

Vet any opportunity before jumping in—your team and mentors matter more than the name on the door. Start with a senior partner or team to learn the business from instead of trying to go it alone. I wish I had started in tenant rep right away, but those early experiences gave me valuable lessons I still use today.

How do you stay up to date with trends and changes in brokerage?

I stay plugged into tech, finance, and emerging trends through newsletters and podcasts, which often spark ideas for new clients to target. I also regularly test tech tools to streamline my workflows and stay ahead of the curve. I find that a lot of our industry is still outdated and resistant to tech in many ways. I hope for more proptech tools that help legacy companies innovate their offerings at a more rapid pace.

What changes in the industry do you see coming?

AI and tech tools will accelerate and streamline repetitive broker tasks, giving adopters a competitive edge. While small users may go self-service, true office searches for more established occupiers will always need a human touch, in my opinion, and that is where the true pros differentiate themselves. The brokers who embrace technology and combine it with their market expertise will rise above, while many in the older generation may choose to resist until they retire.

What do you think separates elite brokers from the rest? 

The best are detail-oriented, highly responsive, and proactive. They follow up, ask questions, and work hard to get creative solutions for their clients. Relationships are built on consistent communication, not surface-level touches. While we represent different ends of the equation (landlord vs. tenant), without creative thinking and a cooperative attitude deals won’t get done. Having strong relationships with the brokerage community in the end greatly benefits the client. While I want to get the best deal-terms possible for my client, treating every deal with respect is important–knowing you will likely do business with the other side again in the future and never want to ruin a relationship over one deal.

What are some common mistakes you see brokers make? 

Being unresponsive or hard to reach. In a slow office market, you can’t afford to leave people hanging, yet many brokers do. I shouldn’t have to hound you to get basic information on your listing that my client might have interest in. Landlord reps especially should put out better information—flyers, photos, virtual tours, rather than making it hard for tenants to engage. Some teams do and I appreciate them for that!

What do you like to do when you're not working?

I live in the South Bay with my wife Jess and our two-year-old daughter Ella, with another baby girl due in October. Family is everything for me, when I am not working, I spend a lot of time outdoors at the beach or at local parks, and we love trying new restaurants – Italian, Asian, you name it. 

I’m also a big sports fan—I played basketball and soccer growing up and love following the Lakers and Rams. I can talk about sports for hours, and I still run a fantasy league with my closest friends from middle school. In the winter, you can usually find me snowboarding in Park City.

What are some major deals you're proud of? 

• Over 100,000 SF of leases for Knotel in Los Angeles in 2019. 
• 30,000 SF for high net worth family in Santa Monica in 2022 (what I think is the nicest building in the city).
• 60,000 SF for Creative Technology (NEP Group) in New Jersey in 2023. 
• 34,000 SF relocation from California to Nashville for Gravity Media / EMG in 2024. 
• 28,500 SF Corporate HQ for Genius Sports in NY in 2025 & 24,000 SF satellite office in Century City in 2025.
• 32,000 SF Corporate Headquarters for popular YouTube Channel "SMOSH" in 2025 which included state of the art stages for their growing studio.

Our thanks to A.J. for sharing his experience and perspective.

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