SANFORD MURATA

What this episode covers

Sanford Murata makes productive and philanthropic use of his 41 years in the real estate industry. He wants to pass on the knowledge and experience he has gained over the years by acting as a bridge to the disadvantaged, providing them opportunities that they may otherwise not receive from anywhere else. As president and chief executive officer of Sanford Murata Inc., Sanford has learned to engrain a social value philosophy in his company’s business activities. “What we’re doing is looking for ways in which we can serve the community, so the real estate projects that we take on has to have some kind of a community benefit – what I call ‘social value’,” Sanford claims. “So we look for social value in a number of projects that we’re doing now that have that social value component to it.” In this Greater Good exclusive, Sanford talks about relationship and his belief in that relationships are created with the sincerity and values that one foregrounds. “It’s not so much a conscious effort to build a relationship, it’s the way you lead your life,” he says. “You lead your life based on your values and if you’re sincere about those values, the relationships will come about and it will grow.” Surely, you will learn a lot as you listen to a man who has been there, done that. Find out all these and more only on Greater Good. BIO: SANFORD MURATA PERSONAL STATEMENT Sanford Murata’s mission is to perpetuate the life of the land through its sensible and sustainable stewardship. He consistently seeks to create economic and social value, in collaboration with all stakeholders, by formulating and applying synergistic land use strategies and solutions which balance vision and inspiration with sound resource and risk management. Committed to improving the built environment while caring for the natural one, Sanford believes that land should be used with great prudence, anticipating and reflecting the concerns and aspirations of the community. CAREER SUMMARY After graduating from the University of California at Berkeley, Sanford Murata commenced his career as a real estate professional with Dillingham Corporation as a property analyst and manager. During his varied 41-year career, Sanford has been involved with nearly every aspect of real estate activity and property type, including: · Development and ownership of shopping centers, office buildings, resort hotels and residential condominium projects. · Asset and property management, brokerage and leasing of office, retail, commercial, hotel, industrial and residential properties. · Consulting for land use and development planning, programming and strategies. · Advisory and counseling services including real estate investment, market analysis, economic feasibility, financial pro forma, marketing plans, valuation, requests for equity and debt financing, requests for qualifications and proposals, work out and turnaround plans and exit solutions. · Receiver and Bankruptcy Trustee for retail and commercial properties. As a founding principal in 1988 of the full service real estate organization Graham Murata Russell, Sanford participated in numerous projects, as a developer / investor and as an adviser / consultant to landowners, developers, corporations, financial institutions and others. From July 2001 to September 2003, Sanford served as Director of Kamehameha Schools’ Commercial Assets Division, where he organized and directed the asset management, development and planning functions for the Schools’ $1.2 billion commercial real estate portfolio. As the Division’s first director, Sanford laid the foundation for creating and enhancing the value of major properties and formulated asset strategy plans for other key properties owned by the Schools throughout Hawaii. Since September 2003, Sanford has been involved in various investment advisory, asset management,