Previously Whalen was vice president at the company. He was involved with upgrading Boston Properties' internal systems and building a network of support for the company's operations. "This is a recognition of the importance of technology in real estate," Whalen tells GlobeSt.com. "We want to make sure it has a senior role in the company. This is an exciting period for technology and real estate. We haven't seen this in our industry in a long time."

Whalen notes that since Boston Properties has gone public over three years ago, the company has completely replaced its entire technical infrastructure and aligned itself with technology partners such as J.D. Edwards, DynaLease and Seagate Software. "We use technology in a practical way," points out Whalen. "We bring information down to the property managers on a day to day basis – where people need it."

Boston Properties is a locally-based real estate investment trust that develops, manages and owns Class A office industrial and hotel properties in this area as well as Washington, DC, Manhattan and San Francisco.