From left: crew chief sergeant Neil MacArthur, senior crew chief instructor, staff sergeant Fred Derry, LTC Robert Vicci (Vandal 6) – battalion commander, crew chief sergeant Jose Miranda, platoon sergeant first class Bill O'Hara, and company commander, (Hooligan 6) captain Joe Roughneen. (Baghdad, Iraq, March 20, 2005)
NEW YORK CITY—Having graduated from the United States Military Academy at West Point, Robert Vicci holds a bachelor's degree in civil engineering. His 34-year career in the military as an infantry officer and army aviator includes service in Iraq for which he was awarded a Bronze Star.
Vicci is a volunteer CEO of VetREST, a 501(c)(3) charity working with veterans struggling with PTSD and their families to reduce suicides. In 2018, the Department of Veteran Affairs reported an average of 20 veterans a day died by suicide. He also says a big component of helping veterans transition to civilian life is finding meaningful work.
“Finding a career that utilizes the unique training and skills they've learned during their service is paramount to facilitating that transition. For many, that could be commercial property management,” says Vicci.
Currently, the retired lieutenant colonel is the senior vice president of asset services in the Northeast for Transwestern Commercial Services. He says his company has an initiative to hire more vets. Vicci's team provides asset management services for a portfolio of commercial and industrial buildings across NY, NJ and PA. He has also worked at Trammel Crow, SL Green, and at JLL where he managed broadcast engineering for the top 30 floors of the Empire State Building.
“Commercial property management requires skills such as adaptability, preparedness, attention to detail, leadership and collaboration,” says Vicci. He asserts that the military teaches vets the following skills, explaining how they relate to property management:
(1) Adaptability and preparedness: Service men and women learn to plan for and analyze multiple potential outcomes. Similarly, property managers must anticipate and provide solutions for potential problems. “Building operations, like missions, can change quickly due to unforeseen equipment maintenance, construction issues or safety risks,” Vicci notes. “Property managers need backup plans and excellent communication with team members and tenants.”
(2) Attention to detail: Operating an aircraft or a building requires accuracy, and diligently checking each step of the process and tracking changes, says Vicci. He further adds that property managers apply this attention to equipment maintenance, financial reporting and lease administration.
(3) Leading and delegating: Vicci compares property management teams to military units, where individuals have specific roles and complementary skills, and people need to work as a team. “The military runs like a well-oiled machine, and that can be easily transferred to commercial property management,” says Vicci. “Property managers should encourage collaboration among their team members as well as with industry colleagues.”
From left: US Army chief warrant officer Tom McGurn (also a Vietnam helicopter pilot), in the division headquarters, lieutenant colonel Robert Vicci. (Tikrit, Iraq, 2 March 2005)
Vicci encourages veterans interested in CRE careers to reach out to people in the industry to seek advice and guidance. “The first thing I tell returning veterans is to send me their resume,” he states. He will help them re-write resumes and connect people with his contacts. He will also search Transwestern's HR site and post resumes on LinkedIn. Vicci's email is [email protected].
“Often we hear that companies want to hire veterans. I challenge these companies to at least hire one or two,” says Vicci. The US Department of Labor reports that in 2018 there were 326,000 unemployed veterans. Nearly 60% were ages 45 and over; 35% were ages 25-44, and 6% were ages 18-24.
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Betsy Kim
Betsy Kim was the bureau chief, East Coast, and New York City reporter for Real Estate Forum and GlobeSt.com. As a lawyer and journalist, Betsy has worked as the director of editorial and content for LexisNexis Lawyers.com, a TV/multi-media journalist for NBC and CBS affiliated TV stations in the Midwest, and an associate producer at Court TV.
