Bess Wakeman

Bess Wakeman

Executive Vice President

Bess specializes in representing owners in the successful leasing and marketing of Class A and B office buildings in San Diego, CA.  Her blend of local knowledge along with institutional ownership experience, gives her a unique perspective on the marketplace.  

Before joining JLL, Bess was the Leasing Director for the Irvine Company where she was active with the leasing and marketing of its 6.6 million s.f. San Diego portfolio. Prior to that, she was a seven-year veteran with Equity Office and was responsible for leading the leasing efforts for its San Diego portfolio. Bess began her commercial real estate career at CB Richard Ellis where she earned the distinguished title of Rookie of the Year.

As a trusted advisor, Bess has helped her clients successfully navigate through market instability and occupancy fluctuations. She has facilitated smooth ownership transitions, participated in spec development, as well as supported many levels of repositioning, reinvestment and reimaging of assets. Bess’ best of class service goes beyond the large transaction wins. She has completed over 1,100 leases with national and local companies ranging in size from 500 s.f. to 220,000 s.f. Her success in leasing to customers of all sizes has benefited the owners she represents with increased occupancy, continual cash flow and improved asset value.

Bess received her Bachelor of Arts in Speech Communication from San Diego State University. She was honored by the YWCA with a Tribute to Women & Industry (TWIN) award for her outstanding achievements and contributions to the San Diego real estate community. Bess has twice been selected as one of the "Most Powerful Real Estate Women in SoCal" by Real Estate Southern California magazine. She was honored by BizNow as one of San Diego's top 50 Power Women in commercial real estate. She is a past board member of NAIOP and is currently on the board of directors for the Downtown San Diego Partnership.