Pay It Forward: "Taking Time to Enrich My Skillset is Critical to Success in This Business"
"Keep learning and take advantage of opportunities because career paths in commercial real estate are not linear. The best way to position yourself for success is education," says Damla Gerhart, principal and managing director at Avison Young.
Damla Gerhart, principal and managing director, Avison Young; Chicago
Damla Gerhart joined Avison Young as principal and managing director of Avison Young’s Chicago office in 2022. She brings more than 15 years of experience in commercial real estate, with a specialization in transaction team formation, talent recruitment and occupier solution strategy development.
Area of expertise or focus: Leadership, brokerage management and consulting.
What has been your biggest challenge in your particular role and how have you overcome those obstacles/? I’ve spent most of my real estate career focused on the office sector. So, when I took on this new role six months ago, I knew it would be a challenge to quickly build up my expertise in other sectors of commercial real estate, but I wasn’t going to let that stop me. I work daily to continue to learn as much as I can about various aspects of our business and ensure I have a clear understanding of our current strategy and future vision. I ask a lot of questions, utilize educational resources, seek advice from mentors, and listen intently to our team of real estate professionals and to our clients. Taking time to enrich my skillset on an ongoing basis is critical to success in this business.
What about your current role/position at the company are you most happy with? I am surrounded by a great team of people who are truly experts in their respective areas of real estate. I love working with them to understand what their goals are, how we can partner to grow the business and determine how we can better serve Avison Young’s clients. I’m a people-person so fostering relationships is my happy place — whether it’s within the organization, the CRE industry or the greater Chicago community.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry and do you have any advice specifically for the next generation? Building relationships is the best piece of advice I received when I began my career in commercial real estate and it truly is the key to success in this business. Connecting with people is so critical. Over the course of my career, I’ve had colleagues become clients and competitors become colleagues. Harnessing the history of those relationships has served me well. It makes you realize this industry can be such a small world in a lot of ways.
To the next generation I would say this: keep learning and take advantage of opportunities because career paths in commercial real estate are not linear. The best way to position yourself for success is education- whether it’s learning more about ESG’s impact on real estate or how data technology is transforming the industry. Personally, I’m learning everyday how Avison Young’s tech stack, such as AVANT by Avison Young is helping clients with their real estate decisions. Don’t ever stop learning and if you get an opportunity to do something new, do it. You’ll build knowledge and confidence, and that opportunity will likely lead to something else.
Would you advise any younger person to begin a career in CRE and what would you advise them to do to get a foothold in the industry? I would definitely recommend young people to seek a career in commercial real estate, especially underrepresented talent. As we see companies of all types focusing on diversity, equity and inclusion, CRE is also responding with making changes in the industry that is more reflective of their clients. The recognition that we need diverse people and perspectives to continue to innovate in this industry opens doors for many people who historically may not have had a career in real estate on their radar.
I wish I had an overview of commercial real estate when I was getting started so I would advise being flexible about learning all aspects of the business. Expose yourself to different things before deciding where you want to be. Commercial real estate is a very broad industry and there is opportunity in many different facets. I got into real estate serendipitously after starting my career in public accounting and then pivoting to HR. I didn’t have an appreciation for the expansiveness of the real estate industry when I started. It was years later when a mentor gave me full overview that I really understood the life cycle of everything we do.
Please share an initiative that you are working on that you are most proud of. I’m very proud of our new and improved broker development program. The pandemic created real challenges for brokerage professionals across the industry as so much of what you learn happens on the job, alongside senior partners and where junior team members are in the room where it happens. This new program allows real estate professionals at Avison Young the opportunity to get essential mentorship along with specific skills that will set them up for success and set them apart from the competition.
In your opinion, what takeaways did we learn from the COVID-19 crisis? The COVID pandemic taught us the importance of true leadership which quickly became defined by how you took care of your people. Colleagues became more aware of the need to check on and take care of their teammates as some struggled through tough times. I learned the importance of asking how someone is doing – and then asking again, how they’re really doing and the need to be empathetic toward the situations people were doing with. Employee wellness also took on a new meaning during the pandemic which led to the importance of prioritizing mental health. Avison Young is a culture-based firm that really backs up its commitment to the health and wellness of all employees.
What mantra would you use to describe your work mindset? A rising tide lifts all boats- that is my mantra. My interpretation of this expression is that if we take the time to collaborate with and make a genuine effort to help others, the outcomes we achieve will not only help them, but ultimately ourselves as well. I’m constantly looking for ways my teams can work together and learn from each other so that we can collectively benefit from Avison Young’s continued upward trajectory.
