Tenant Experience Network (TEN)

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Jen Tindle, Chief Comic Relief Officer @ AllAboutCRE.com. Jen shares her journey to commercial real estate and how she got started in the business. Today, Jen is focussed on helping to solve the knowledge gap that exists between CRE firms and CRE technology providers. Jen started her career in public accounting — a path we share in common — and found tremendous value in better understanding how businesses work. She then leveraged that knowledge to land a position in private equity real estate, which at the time, she knew nothing about. Then, Jen got exposure to many different parts of the business and discovered her passion for process and data. She co-founded a proptech startup in the data/integration business. Jen’s latest project, allaboutcre.com, is an educational platform that builds on her love of learning. She shares some great insights into what the CRE industry needs to be thinking about over the next 3 to 5 years to continue to be successful, as well as her thoughts on how building tech stacks are evolving. Our discussion saw the role of host and guest often switching back and forth, which made for a very dynamic conversation, providing us both with the opportunity to share our perspectives.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with the co-hosts of the new CRE Unplugged podcast, Nadine Ezzie, Founder and President of ezzie + co and Ryan Elazari, Senior Director at Empire Management. We learn about Nadine and Ryan’s journey to commercial real estate and how they got started in the business. Nadine is an attorney and made her way to CRE, serving as in-house counsel for an industrial developer. Through LinkedIn, she was then presented with the perfect opportunity to join a proptech startup, heading up its customer success team. Nadine headed to Boston to be employee #5 of a company that automated the drafting of commercial lease agreements for institutional organizations across the country. This gave Nadine a first-hand view into the legal departments of big companies, and after 4 years, she left to establish ezzie + co, an all-in-one CRE legal and advisory firm, using innovation and technology to serve her clients. Ryan, a returning guest on TEN, was born and raised in NYC, found his way to CRE as an associate at Empire Management. His continued education in the field led to a promotion to Senior Director of the firm, participating in development and acquisition projects. We learn how Nadine and Ryan hit it off when they met. Their friendship and connection have led them to collaborate as hosts on a new podcast, the aptly named CRE Unplugged — Innovating from the streets to the skyline. They have a lot of passion to go with their ambitious mission to not only be informative and educational but to add a welcome dose of humour as well. Ryan shares how his company is staying ahead of the curve to deliver a great experience to Empire’s customers. Nadine shares her aspirations of what she would like to bring to her business that has the potential to be transformative. We explore how customer experience is becoming a significant driver of tenant engagement and how this phenomenon is impacting the industry. I am excited that the team at HILO has had the opportunity to sponsor and assist with the launch of CRE Unplugged and can’t wait to see how Nadine and Ryan bring it to life.

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Peter Riguardi Chairman & President, New York Region at JLL. Peter’s career journey in commercial real estate began early on, watching his father work in property management and then having the opportunity to learn from many experts in the business before embarking with a group of colleagues to start their own company in 1989. He would later sell that firm to JLL in 2002 and has been at JLL ever since. I love how Peter gives credit to his family for teaching him the value of showing people respect. He also provides a valuable lesson about situations where you can “control the work” by striving for exclusivity, rather than competing with other brokers, even if it means smaller assignments. Peter is seeing an increase in people coming back to the workplace and occupiers using the office to competitively attract talent. He has also noticed a significant push to the best office buildings, regardless of their location. With 460 million square feet of office space in NYC, only time will tell how much space use will have to change. We both agreed that the industry needs to seek innovative and creative solutions to meet emerging needs in CRE, as it continues to compete with the many options where people can choose to work.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Nico DePaul, Chief Operating Officer at NNN Pro Group. Nico’s career journey began through a search for an internship, and after showing up for an interview 4 times, was actually offered a full-time role. So for him, it was goodbye law school, and hello commercial real estate, starting in the net lease space as a junior analyst. Nico kicks off the show with an explanation of how net lease space works and who it is best suited to. He invested early to learn the business, putting in long days and taking on all that he could in order to gain experience and knowledge. As an early employee of the firm, Nico has been able to personally contribute to the significant growth of the business, which is now a 100+ team, and just a few years ago he took on the role of COO. Nico describes the ways in which the net lease industry is being affected by the current environment in CRE, with many variables affecting the level of activity across several categories. Like all aspects of the industry, Nico shares many ways that technology is impacting his space and the ways in which the business is evolving.

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Brett Miller, CEO at Canderel. Brett’s career journey began through an introduction from a university professor to someone who has now become a lifelong friend, John Weiner, the founder of Canderel. Brett first started at Canderel in what was supposed to be an internship position, but it turned out to be a 7-year-long ‘summer job’. After a great run, in 1993, market conditions changed, and Brett pursued an MBA in France and spent the next 10 years in Europe in a variety of roles. In 2001, with 3 kids in tow, it was back to Canada and a position with CBRE, then to JLL as CEO for Canada. Brett continued to maintain a relationship with John Weiner, and in 2018 he got the call-back to Canderel as CEO. What a ride! In our discussion, Brett highlights the creative side of the CRE industry, emphasizes the importance of relationships, and the overall impact of real estate on society. We had a robust conversation on the topics related to ‘office’ and the ways in which the industry is responding. Brett shares details on Canderel’s new Okkto initiative, which offers a very exciting suite of innovative workplace hospitality experiences for the users of their spaces. We discussed how technology can offer better connectivity to their customers and help to better understand their needs. Brett shares Canderel’s continued efforts to explore new technologies in their buildings but also expresses a desire to see more collaboration and integration between solution providers to give a more seamless experience. It was great to connect with Brett and I look forward to continued conversations with him and his team.

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Shimon Shkury, President and Founder at Ariel Property Advisors. Shimon’s career journey began in 2002 working at a CRE firm this podcast knows well – Massey Knakal – thanks to my conversations on TEN with Bob Knakal and Paul J. Massey. About a year into that relationship, Shimon was given the opportunity to run Upper Manhattan and the Bronx as a partner. Shimon went on to hire several key people to support him in that effort, and together they eventually left to start Ariel Property Advisors. At the core of Ariel’s mandate is research. Half the team works in research and in turn partners with the sales and investment teams. Layered on top of that are capital service and mortgage brokers. You have to listen to the episode to hear Shimon’s story about being laid off from his first job, but somehow also meeting his life partner. He credits the key to his success to his partners at Ariel. Shimon shares insights on the current state of the market as well as his beliefs on the opportunities ahead of us. He has a great read on what building operators need to do to create more compelling workplaces and suggested the idea of forming a Board, consisting of both building operators and the occupants, to come together and discuss emerging issues in CRE. Shimon is excited about the emerging changes in the office sector and truly loves what he does.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Gary Phillips, Managing Director at Eastdil Secured. Gary’s career journey began working at Deutsche Bank, where he was assigned to an economic group focused on real estate. And so began Gary’s residency in New York and his passion for the real estate industry. He attributes some of his success to his personal drive and nurturing long-term relationships. Gary has been exposed to all asset classes but was able to share his insights into the office category and the challenges that it is facing, with consideration to the different classes within the overall office class. Gary provided a glimpse into the current state of the buy and sell market, as well as the new players that are entering the field to take advantage of current opportunities. We discuss the need to continue to create and support thriving business districts in cities and in particular the importance of patronizing local businesses. Gary provided some interesting thinking about the new role of HR departments and their connection to creating physical spaces that help to achieve corporate goals. Gary sees the CRE space through an interesting lens and I look forward to tapping into his expertise again in the future.
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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Phil Kanfer, Founder & CEO at Market Lane Advisors. Phil’s career journey had finance and entrepreneurial beginnings, which led him to real estate with Newmark as a tenant rep broker in lower Manhattan. Phil eventually met the CEO of a newly emerging company, now called WiredScore, and was brought in to help bring the business to market. This company saw an opportunity to create a measure and certification of how well a building is connected through technology. In the early days, Phil’s back was against the wall. He believed that this new opportunity had to work, which for him meant doing his best work, as there was nowhere else to go. Phil ran sales and revenue over 9 years and helped grow the business to 150+ people and operating in 25 different countries. Fast forward, and acknowledging that historically there has not been any one person overseeing innovation and technology in CRE, Phil saw an opportunity to support the industry by providing fractional or an outsourced innovation lead to help select and implement the right technology solutions. And so, Market Lane was born, providing an unbiased expertise to choose the right technology for each and every building, based on its own set of unique characteristics. Phil has seen first-hand how building owners look to the hospitality industry for inspiration on the future of office buildings. Our conversation naturally led to a discussion about customer experience and the need for more collaboration between building owners, operators and their tenants. Recognizing that we are still in the early innings of this game, I look forward to our continued connection as we both explore the intersection of technology and commercial real estate.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Lee Odess, CEO of Access Control Executive Brief. Lee’s career journey began with a position in the security industry at BRIVO. He eventually discovered that it was best to work on his own within the building access space and focus on the digital transformation that is impacting the industry. Lee sees the world of access control from the perspective of the end user and how it contributes to a better customer experience. Lee has always had a focus on community building and sees his role in the building access space as doing just that. He believes the past has helped inform the present and should not be overlooked when reviewing the evolution of property technology. Lee was instrumental in creating an interactive experience at CRE/TECH in London to help better sell the ecosystem around access control. We had an interesting conversation about the collaboration between building owners and occupiers as they work to provide a more seamless experience. Our conversation goes on to explore the intersection of digital space and physical space. Lee is a great spokesperson and thought leader for the access control world and I look forward to continuing our conversation as technology in commercial real estate continues to evolve.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Sonny Kalsi, Co-CEO at BentallGreenOak. Sonny’s career journey began working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley on Wall Street after completing his studies in finance. He had an opportunity to rotate from mergers and acquisitions to join the real estate group, which he thought would only last a year or so, but it stuck and he feels very fortunate to still be working in commercial real estate. Sonny has lived and worked in 6 different countries, and that experience is just one of the reasons why he has stayed in the industry so long. Sonny started GreenOak in 2010 and sometime later, a former Morgan Stanley colleague, Amy Price, then President at Bentall Kennedy connected to say, “I have this crazy idea”. A year later they got married, and their union created BentallGreenOak. We both share a passion for buildings, or “battleships'' as Sonny likes to call them. I really enjoyed hearing about his family story and our discussion about real entrepreneurship. Sonny shared his thoughts on technology disrupting CRE and the impact it’s having on each sector of the industry. We talk about buildings and cities and the idea of placemaking, as well as the partnership between landlords, tenants and government. Sonny highlighted several ways that technology can improve the customer experience and also impact property management to help drive efficiency, find cost savings, and contribute to sustainability. Our conversation was free-flowing and super engaging and I look forward to continuing to stay connected with Sonny.Subscribe to TEN so you never miss an episode of the Tenant Experience Network.