NEW YORK CITY—With an eye firmly fixed on the future, NAIOP chairman Jean Kane spoke Wednesday in Midtown to the New York chapter about the industry's state of affairs and how professionals can stay relevant. The industry leader also is the CEO of Welsh Companies and Colliers International | Minneapolis St. Paul, in in Minnetonka, MN.
“Commercial real estate a decade ago was homogenous, all of the CEO and the other top leadership was white males,” she said. “We've made huge progress but we're still woefully under represented in terms of minorities in the industry. NAIOP is 80% male and 92% white. But the group we call 'developing leaders'—those members who are 35-years-old or younger—is the most diverse group in the association.”
To maximize the potential of that group, Kane continued, senior level management must consider less experienced professionals, including those just out of school.
“Business schools are recruiting women, students from abroad and US-based members of minority groups. If we, as executives, don't understand them, we won't be able to address their needs. So we need to start recruiting them, not for the sake of quotes but to bring diversity of thought to the table. If we don't do something, we're going to be left behind.”
There are several other trends that commercial real estate executives need to capitalize on, Kane noted. “Within the next six years, according to a recent survey, 58% to 62% of CEOs will be retiring, along with 43% to 48% of CFOs and 39% to 51% of EVPs, SVPs and VPs. There needs to be a succession plan for that, even it means hiring from outside the company.”
Plus, she added, “The way users are looking for space is changing. Property owners and operators who are being creative will be the differentiators.”
Among the areas of needed focus, said Kane, is creating commercial real estate with appeal to several decision makers. “It's been predicted that more and more real estate divisions are going to be made by human resources professionals, not just CEOs, and those two constituent groups think very differently."
As for courting the next generation, she added, members of the real estate industry may need to work extra hard. “People coming out of top business programs want to go into investment banking—or places like 3M or Best Buy seem like safe bets—they're not necessarily looking at real estate. So there needs to be more reaching out to those new graduates.”
Programs like the Real Estate Associate Program, which works to teach members of minority groups the business of commercial real estate, need to be supported by both individuals and organizations in the industry, she added.
And more seasoned industry professionals must give back to developing leaders, Kane asserted. “It's important for those of us who are more senior in the industry to share our experience. It wasn't a smooth road to get where I am today so I have lots of lessons to share.”
“When I walked into my first NAIOP meeting 27 years ago,” Kane continued, “I knew I was different and I was totally intimidated. But I found mentors and I took what they said and made it work for me.”
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Rayna Katz
Rayna Katz is a seasoned business journalist whose extensive experience includes coverage of the lodging sector, travel and the culinary space. She was most recently content director for a business-to-business publisher, overseeing four publications. While at Meeting News, a travel trade publication, she received a Best Reporting award for a story on meeting cancellations in New Orleans during Hurricane Katrina.
