Introduction Discussions in the literature (Behrens, 1982; Estey, 1988; Manning, 1991; Raney, 1990; Sladack and Wahn, 1991) on how best to structure the corporate real estate function within a large company date back over two decades. Yet, these earlier discussions have been narrow by comparison to what is currently on the minds of more proactive corporate real estate executives. This earlier literature focused upon transactions and dealmaking (e.g., leasing, construction, outsourcing, partnering with outside vendors, etc.) (Behrens, 1982; Estey, 1988; Raney, 1990; Sladack and Wahn, 1991), ‘‘profit center’’ and separate subsidiary issues (Behrens, 1982; Manning, 1991), centralization vs. decentralization (Behrens, 1982; Raney, 1990), and more recently upon capturing real estate investment returns and international considerations (Estey, 1988; Raney, 1990). A few corporate real estate executives today (e.g., at IBM, AT&T, Eastman Kodak, and Arthur Young) (Lyne, 1995) are making dramatic contributions to their company’s return on investment (ROI) through reductions in space needs, greater workforce THE JOURNAL OF REAL ESTATE RESEARCH 1 383 Christopher A. Manning* Stephen E. Roulac** Structuring the Corporate Real Property Function for Greater ‘‘Bottom Line’’ Impact *Department of Finance and Computer Information Systems, Loyola Marymount University, Los Angeles, California 90045. **The Roulac Group, 900 Larkspur Landing Circle, Suite 125, Larkspur, California 94939. Abstract. This study reviews the tasks a corporate real estate (CRE) function should undertake to create more opportunities for a company’s real estate-related decisions to increase shareholder wealth. The major obstacles thwarting many corporate real estate executives from gaining the support they have been seeking from senior management, to more fully participate in higher value strategic planning efforts, are synthesized from several recent surveys (Arthur Andersen, 1993; Lambert, Poteete and Waltch, 1995). Following a discussion of what corporate real estate staffs should be doing to contribute more to shareholder wealth, and what usually stands in their way, a proactive strategy is put forth for overcoming these obstacles. Lastly, in light of recent contributions to the literature (Duckworth, 1993; Joroff, Louargand, Lambert, and Becker, 1993; Kimbler and Rutherford, 1993; Lambert et al., 1995; Noha, 1993; Nourse and Roulac, 1993) on how to integrate strategic management of a company’s real estate assets with strategic management of its business units and overall corporate strategy, some suggestions are made for (1) how to best organize the CRE function within a company, (2) how to make the best use of outside CRE service providers, and (3) what skills should prove most valuable to corporate real estate executives and their staffs.