Professional Profile
Craig Coppola is the top producing office broker in the Lee & Associates’ 45+ year history, which includes 65+ offices nationwide. He is one of the Founding Principals of Lee & Associates Arizona (1991) and has completed over 4,000 lease and sale transactions in the past 40 years, totaling a value in excess of $4 billion. Craig is also the current CEO of CRE OneSource, an online software program that brings clarity to and increases revenue for commercial real estate brokers.
Craig received the Lee & Associates William J. Lee Lifetime Achievement Award in 2015. He has been named NAIOP Office Broker of the Year six times, and in 2020 was awarded the NAIOP Award of Excellence. He has also been awarded National Chapter President (the highest honor given) for NAIOP (National Association of Office and Industrial Properties)and NAIOP Office Broker of the Year six times. Additionally, Craig has earned the top three designations in the real estate industry: CCIM, CRE, and SIOR. Less than 33 people worldwide hold all three designations.
Craig is extremely involved with the commercial real estate industry and community, donating substantial amounts of his time annually. He served on the Arizona Chapter NAIOP board for over 10 years, includingas Arizona NAIOP Chapter president in 2003, and currently serves on the NAIOP executive board. Craig served on the Central Arizona CCIM Chapter Board for seven years, including as President. He served on the Southwest Chapter of CRE for ten years, including as Chairman. Additionally, Craig has served on a broad range of community boards including the Advisory Council for St. Vincent DePaul (6 years and currently serving), the Banner Health Foundation (9 years), the Arizona Chamber of Commerce (15 years and currently serving), the Xavier Preparatory Board of Trustees (7 years), and as the Valley of the Sun United Way Tocqueville Chairman for multiple years.
In addition to his Real Estate career, Craig is also the author of seven books. His first book, How to Win in Commercial Real Estate Investing, won him the “Best First Time Author Award” from The National Association of Real Estate Editors (NAREE). As a follow-up to his investing book, Craig published, The Art of Commercial Real Estate Leasing in December 2014. Craig co-wrote, Chasing Excellence: Real Life Stories from the Streets with Lee & Associates Founder Bill Lee. In addition to his three real estate books, Craig has also written The Fantastic Life: How to Get it, Live it, and Pass it On, and What Now? A 5-Prong Approach to Handling Cancer Diagnosis & Treatment. His latest books are, The Fantastic Life Revisited, is an all-new, expanded version of the first edition, and rocks, Gravel, sand, a book geared towards accomplishing your big rock goals and breaking them down into Gravel.
He is widely known as an industry thought leader and is asked to give numerous speeches each year on market overviews, forecasting, and strategic planning. Finally, Craig writes two blogs on the commercial real estate industry and other interesting topics that reach over a million people annually.
Craig holds a Bachelor’s Degree in Finance from Nicholls State University and a Master’s Degree in Business Administration from Arizona State University. In 2017-2024 (the past 8 years) he was selected to the ASU Sun Devil 100 for distinguished alumni who own or lead successful businesses.
Craig is a third-generation Arizonan, married to his wife Tracy for over 30 years, father of four remarkable children, and grandfather of 3.