Pay It Forward: "It’s a Great Day to Make Money"
Avison Young principal Trisha Connolly Horowitz is focusing on improving client connectivity across the firm's national platform.
Trisha Connolly Horowitz, principal and COO of the U.S. capital markets group at Avison Young in New York.
Trisha Connolly Horowitz manages the operational and communications efficiencies and client engagement across all platforms for Avison Young’s capital markets practice in the U.S.
What has been the biggest challenge in your particular role and how have you overcome those obstacles/? I recently started at Avison Young as the COO of Capital Markets for the U.S. with the biggest challenge of improving client connectivity across our entire national platform and ensuring we are providing quality service for our clients across all service lines. Since joining, I’ve partnered with our Executive Committee to surgically review our client strategies and to implement new paths of connectivity to field the best team in each market.
What about your current role/position at the company are you most happy with? I love that Avison Young is in the early stages of our Capital Markets platform, and we are just starting to breach the surface. We are heading towards instrumental and strategic growth across the country. It’s our goal to not only evolve our entire platform here in the U.S., but to demonstrate value to potential clients while enhancing what we provide our existing clients.
What is the best piece of advice you have received that has helped you succeed in your industry? I’m particularly inspired by the book, The First 90 Days by Michael D. Watkins. A particular strategy outlined within the book requires you to do a lot of listening. I have sat with my colleagues across the country and listened to what they want from someone in my position, how can I help them, and how can I better serve their clients and meet their specific needs.
Would you advise any younger person to begin a career in CRE? Absolutely! However, ours is a very broad industry and there are a variety of different avenues with commercial real estate.
What would you advise them to do to get a foothold in the industry? My advice is to focus on joining a larger organization while you’re still in school or right when you leave school, or early in your career, to see how all the different parts work together: leasing, investments sales, debt & equity, property management, project management, occupier services, development, construction, etc. and to get involved and gain real-world, hands-on experience at the jump.
Please share with us an initiative that you are working on that you are most proud of. I am currently working on recruiting not just the top talent, but the right talent to join Avison Young. One of our goals for the firm is to grow our Capital Markets platform and my vision is to build it out as the most successful platform in our company. It is exciting to be a part of something that will directly impact how we do business, and I am already seeing the results.
In your opinion, what takeaways did we learn from the COVID-19 crisis? I think one of the biggest takeaways we all learned is balance. The flexibility of signing onto a Zoom call rather than hopping on a plane and travelling for work is great, and it allows us to more easily connect with teams and clients frequently, but I also think we learned that just because we can work from anywhere, there are potential drawbacks, like isolation and lack of productivity.
How would you describe your work mindset? It’s a great day to make money. My dad has been telling me that since I started at my first job and it always holds true. No matter what happened the day before, start over, and think: today is a great day to make money.
