Q: Are you doing now what you thought you would be doing after college?
No, I’m not. I initially got a degree in environmental science. When I was a young kid, I worked in construction during the summers. After I got out of college, I got married and needed to make money, so I worked for two winters outside in construction and froze working along the East River. I decided it wasn’t for me, and moved on to construction management.
Q: How did you make the switch from construction to property management?
I was working at Merrill Lynch overseeing multiple construction jobs in downtown. In October 1987, "Black Monday" occurred and the stock market crashed. Construction projects came to a halt, and I was approached by some friends at a company named Cross & Brown, owned by Metlife, to make the transition from construction management to property management. I remained in property management ever since.
Q: How did you first hear about BOMA?
I got my start in the real estate business while working at Chase Manhattan Bank, and the BOMA organization was always something that we would aspire to be a part of, just to be in the know. If you’re in the real estate business, BOMA is really the organization to join. It is just like in any field, you join that organization that pertains to what you want to do, what you want to know about, and who you want to network with. BOMA was that vehicle.
Q: What’s your favorite thing about BOMA New York?
The people that comprise BOMA are people I grew up with in the industry, so the camaraderie and the networking, and being able to pick up the phone and talk to anyone in the BOMA network is valuable to me. Lately, we’re trying to make changes to BOMA. We’re trying to make it relevant, and particularly relevant to the younger folks who are coming into the business. That’s what the goal is. We’re trying to come up with new creative ideas to reach out to the millennials and get them involved with young leadership programs that we’ve been setting up, so that’s all part of the process.
Q: How long have you been involved with BOMA New York?
I’m not quite sure when I became a member, but it has to be at least 25 years.
Q: What office position do you hold on the board?
I’m the secretary.
Q: And was this your first role? Were you doing something before?
I served three stints down on the Board of Directors for BOMA. After three stints, you’re not allowed to stay on the board unless you move into an Officer position.
Q: What inspires you?
I love the real estate business. There is always room for improvement on every property that you work on, no matter what building it is. I love the idea of going to work to make buildings better. That’s what inspires me. I like the business, I like what we do. No two days are the same, every day is different. What you plan on doing tomorrow is not what you’re going to do because things are going to change. It’s very fast-paced, and there are a lot of facets involved in property management.
Q: What piece of advice would you give a younger person in the industry tackling the field?
Well, I would advise younger people to get involved, you always get more from volunteering and being on committees, because you get back more than you put in. Working in this field gets very hard. People are asked to work harder, work longer hours, but you have to find a way to take the time out and to give back and join organizations like BOMA to network and understand that it’s not just your job that matters, there’s other things going on. Stay involved, get to know your organization and get to know other people in the organization. Don’t just focus on your job, try to network. It gets very difficult when you try to juggle a lot of different things, and you’ve got deadlines, but you really have to find the time and manage your time better to be able to do those things.
Q: Through your 25 years with BOMA, what is one memorable experience you’ve had?
After 9/11 happened, seeing how BOMA responded and how it stepped up to the disaster, was probably the best memory I have with BOMA. I’m very proud of how they handled themselves and what they did, particularly the BOMA members that made the ultimate sacrifice.
Q: What did they do when that happened?
For the buildings that did not go down, there was a lot of work that had to get done. And so the way the BOMA members were able to take control and restore their buildings and get people back to work was pretty remarkable in a lot of cases downtown.
