Tenant Experience Network (TEN)

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.

In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Mollie Eisler, Vice President, Technology and Innovation at Almanac Realty Investors. Mollie began her career journey with an educational foundation in hospitality, which allowed her to delve deeper into her interest in the intersection of people, technology and place. Early days of working at IBM with big data, analytics, cloud computing and AI exposed Mollie to the many ways that technology can help people do their jobs better. The experience served her well when she then made the leap to real estate, overseeing investment in Proptech companies as a VP of Ventures, before landing her current role at Almanac as VP of Tech and Innovation. Mollie sees two themes emerging that will define the future of commercial real estate. The first is data management, which she views as the most valuable resource, and the second is the creation of unique and memorable in-person experiences that can be shared with others. Mollie is seeing more building operators collaborating with their customers, and creating more opportunities to engage with them to gather feedback that will ultimately inform future decisions. I appreciated hearing the example of Neuberger Berman’s use of art tours to connect people to their buildings and help foster community. In Mollie’s view, tenant engagement and communication platforms are on the rise because they are helping to meet the needs of hybrid work and improve digital connectivity. 

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Michael Przytula, Managing Director, Intelligent & Digital Workplaces at Accenture. Michael began his career journey working in the early days of enterprise email systems and Voice over Internet Protocol (or VoIP), which led him to real estate technology. Michael now leads Accenture's workplace technology practice in North America, where he spends his time focused on experience in the workplace. Like me, what truly drives Michael’s work is the realization that commercial real estate is ALL ABOUT THE PEOPLE. We both want to help people do things better, faster and more easily while at work. Michael notes that the built environment has really pivoted to being about the experiences and spaces that make a workplace that people love to work in. His ultimate goal is to create a standardized, streamlined and unified experience, no matter where people work. Michael highlights the need for more collaboration between building operators and their customers to determine the right set of digital services – before construction and after. Michael and I are aligned in our thinking and views on properties using technology to enhance customer experience in the building and facilitate connections to the surrounding community. I’m looking forward to our next conversation!  

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Antonia Cardone, Americas Lead, Total Workplace at Cushman & Wakefield. Antonia’s career journey began with her training as an architect and her early interest in strategic facility planning. Her career trajectory took hold and she has been fortunate to be doing what she loves, solving a wide variety of problems for her clients. Antonia shared a glimpse into the data that Cushman & Wakefield is analyzing, including employee sentiments around the value of connecting to people in the workplace. Antonia shared a number of reasons people want to be in the office. In the past, being in the office was about having access to “stuff”, whereas today the new emphasis is on socialization and collaboration. She suggests that while amenities and environment are important, the “value” of being together is the real driver of spending time in the office. We both agreed that casual interactions are critically important to building great teams and doing great work, and are especially difficult to schedule spontaneously over Zoom. We had a great conversation about how building operators and occupiers can be working together to really shake up the physical workplace, across all building classes. Antonia’s insights on how the way people work in buildings is impacting cities and local businesses, causing less stress and allowing for more streamlined operations, was really interesting and something that I had not previously considered. We also discussed how technology can help solve some of the challenges around improving collaboration in the workspace and supporting people continuing to work from everywhere. Antonia also recognized the need to be able to better track space utilization to deliver improved services and programs and provide more visibility of data for the users of spaces. 

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Kendall Pretzer, CEO at Grace Hill. We learn about Kendall’s career journey, moving to Dallas after graduating from college and taking a position as a financial analyst in commercial real estate, moving on to various operational roles and finally making her way to the multifamily sector. She eventually started her own company providing policy procedure manuals for the CRE industry, which was acquired in 2018 by the software company that she now leads, Grace Hill. Kendal uses her experience as a customer to help run Grace Hill today. I loved hearing about how her Dad helped to set the stage for the kind of leader she wanted to be, and how a previous mentor taught her the value of making you feel smart… their approach was to question you into the right answer. Kendal believes that hybrid work may well be the new normal, and companies must be flexible and creative to help it succeed. Kendall reminds us that people are people, and there is a need for some in-person collaboration and casual conversation. She also noted that building occupants are more sensitive to the environment and ESG, and are demanding more attention be paid to this area of the business. Kendall shared how her company was able to support its clients through the pandemic by providing content that will help owners and operators to make better decisions. At Grace Hill, Kendall has made it a priority to recognize the efforts of her team members that have made a positive impact on the community. 

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In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Sara Tabita, Community Experience Manager at Granite Properties. We learn about Sara’s career journey, from wedding coordinator to hotel sales and catering to software sales on the corporate events side of the business, and finally to Granite Properties as their Community Experience Manager – all with a focus on hospitality! As a result of the pandemic, Sara’s role expanded beyond Southern California to virtual and in-person servicing of Granite’s national portfolio. The company’s growth mindset has enabled Sara to take risks in her work and has contributed to her success. Sara emphasized that even before the pandemic, Granite Properties was already focused on the emerging trends of quality, flexibility, wellness, and sustainability in CRE. She feels that office building owners need to partner more with tenants to help facilitate evolving workplace needs. Sara acknowledges the shift from office space to office experience, and the need for buildings to provide their tenants with unique and memorable experiences that will also foster a sense of community. She stresses the importance of communication to help inform customers of any changes that may be necessary to deliver a better workplace experience. Sara, her team and the company have a great perspective on customer engagement and are truly taking a leadership position in differentiating their properties. From building access to digital signage, Sara also recognizes the importance of utilizing technology to enhance the customer experience.  

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