On today's episode of the TBG Real Estate podcast, we welcome Jessica Smith, the Chief Operating Officer at Westlake Realty. She guides us through her journey towards the role of COO and how leaders like her have coped with maintaining their office's corporate culture during these unique times. Also, make sure to check out MusicAndMedicine.com -- you'll thank us for it later. 

EPISODE NOTES:

02:15 - What is Westlake Realty?

03:17 - Solving problems all day long 

06:20 - To San Francisco at 22

09:30 - Trial by fire

11:50 - What makes a good property manager? 

13:33 - Sitting at the table

14:47 - Managing performance 

17:55 - Real estate is a lot problem solving 

18:30 - From Seattle to the Bay 

20:27 - Transitioning into the COO role

24:12 - Maintaining corporate culture during Covid

27:40 - Making changes 

28:53 - "The Hot Seat" presented by KK Reset 

As Chief Operating Officer at Westlake Realty, Jessica oversees operations across Westlake’s asset management, real estate services, leasing functions, investment and joint venture opportunities, and development projects.  Jessica joined Westlake as the Senior Vice President of Portfolio and Asset Management and was promoted to Chief Operating Officer in July of 2018.

Prior to joining Westlake, Jessica served as Vice President, Real Estate Services for Westcore Properties, a commercial real estate investment company, where she was responsible for acquisitions, dispositions, and portfolio operations. Before that, she spent 14 years at the RMR Group, (Nasdaq: RMR), an alternative asset management company primarily focused on real estate related businesses. Jessica held a variety of positions at RMR, starting out as a property manager and eventually serving as Area Director with responsibility for oversight of real estate leasing and day-to-day portfolio operations for RMR’s Western Region.

Jessica holds a bachelor’s degree in Business Administration and Management from Franklin Pierce University.