My Ask to My Colleagues, Clients & Competitors

I thought that I would share a condensed version of my comments from the CoreNet Northern California 20th Annual Awards dinner. I have removed the sections about my career in order to focus on what really matters- the dynamic of the Northern California Chapter, our role in the history of outsourcing, and, most importantly, what our obligation is to the future of the industry:

No matter how prepared you think you may be, it is still a bit overwhelming to stand here in front of so many people that you hold in such high regard. While receiving this honor is significant enough, sharing the evening with my good friend and now colleague Bill Roberts makes it that much better.

I have been attending this event since 2001 when I first moved from New York to San Francisco. At each dinner, I sat in awe of the people, the careers and the accomplishments that I heard about from the stage. When I consider the list of past honorees- company founders, industry visionaries and daring entrepreneurs, I am both extremely proud and deeply humbled to be standing here in their shadows.

Although I had been quite active in the New York Chapter, I was amazed by the NorCal group. While equally accomplished, I found NorCal to be impressively inviting, open and welcoming to a ‘newbie’ like me. In a business development role as I have been, making a significant geographic change comes with a lot of risk, some intimidation and a healthy dose of ‘fear of failure’. My concerns were quickly eased as I became involved in our Chapter. I was refreshed by seeing that the lines between client, friend, competitor, recruit, mentor, and mentee were blurred or simply did not exist. There is a special camaraderie here that fosters a learning environment and culture of knowledge-sharing and support to which most other Chapters aspire. In fact, I would suggest that it is our duty and obligation to champion this message out to the other markets to which our work takes us. Encourage your colleagues to attend local events, share your experiences at a global Summit and most of all- become involved. The personal and professional rewards are meaningful, to which I can personally attest.

Looking back, I see the alignment between my career evolution and our industry transformation. My career in ‘outsourcing’ started before the term was used in real estate. Since then, we have moved to solutions from services. A focus on the occupant as opposed to the facility. Strategic partner not vendor. Corporate overhead to C-Suite asset. Many of these changes happened here first- bringing Silicon Valley’s culture of innovation to corporate real estate. I am incredibly proud to have had the opportunity to be part of this exciting time in our industry.

Finally, I have an ask of all of you. One of my passions during the recent years of my career has been building the next generation of CRE talent and leadership. The CRE leader of 2025 and 2050 won’t look like the leader of today. It is our collective obligation to give back- to support, to nurture, to grow and to inspire this group. Whether it be via formal mentorship programs, informal career counseling, or simply by providing opportunities for our future leaders to challenge themselves---let’s leave here tonight with this as our ‘to do’. There is no more important action for us to take tomorrow and for each day thereafter.