Meet the Team

MEET THE TEAM

Mark Watson

Owner and Founder

Mark Watson is the owner and a founding member of Crescent Commercial, LLC. Prior to founding Crescent in spring 2007, Mark served as a financial analyst and manager of investments for CNL Income Corp. (REIT) in Orlando, Florida. During his tenure with CNL, Mark contributed to over $1 billion in real estate acquisitions, $150 million of which he played an integral role in sourcing, underwriting, negotiating, and structuring. Mark graduated from Harding University College of Business Administration with a bachelor’s degree in professional sales.

Since founding Crescent, Mark and his team have successfully acquired, developed, and managed various commercial real estate projects in the retail, office, industrial, and hospitality sectors.

In addition to his passion for commercial real estate, Mark loves to start, acquire, and grow businesses. Currently, Mark is the majority owner of and sits as an advisor to Sure Fit Holdings, LLC (Anytime Fitness franchisee with 15 locations in Arkansas, Missouri, Oklahoma, and Tennessee) and RE/MAX Advantage of Searcy (RE/MAX franchisee). Mark has also invested in and/or operated several other companies that have since been dispositioned including BFCU Capital, LLC, a natural gas investment fund; Hart Construction, LLC; and Tropical Tango, LLC, a Tropical Smoothie franchisee, to name a few.

Outside of work, Mark enjoys spending time with his family; serving as a deacon in foreign missions for his church; hunting; fishing; golfing; and teaching real estate, business, leadership, and personal finance.

Russ Watson

Principal Broker

Russ Watson has developed a great knowledge and understanding of the Arkansas markets, including Searcy and White County, from being in Searcy since 1997. Russ joined the Crescent team around the same time he graduated from Harding University with a bachelor’s degree in professional sales in 2008. His educational focus was in personality profiling, negotiations and communication; these, coupled with Russ’ work ethic, make him an effective facilitator between parties. Russ primarily focuses on property acquisitions, dispositions, and brokerage including leasing.

Outside of work, Russ enjoys spending time with his wife traveling or working together on various projects and working on his land in addition to many hobbies including wood and metalworking. He enjoys hunting, fishing, backpacking, golf, and many other outdoor activities. He also spends time working on ranches in Arkansas and Oklahoma assisting ranchers with their livestock’s health and wellbeing.