With 30 speakers divulging their personal routes into property and describing how they shape the process of development and management of property, EG’s Connecting Tomorrow’s Leaders event was a treasure trove of advice for anyone looking into the diverse and exciting career paths the industry has to offer. Here we share some of the best wisdom to come out of the event.
Sebastian Abigail
Senior director, VTS
“The flatter structures of real estate tech companies encourages feedback. After a meeting the stripes come off and you can talk to anyone in any part of the business about what went well and what didn’t. That really helps you grow quickly not just as a business, but also an individual.”
Louise Brooke-Smith
Partner, Arcadis
“The last phone call I made? It was to a new developer client about his aspirations to develop in London and Birmingham. We talked through the market and planning policy and particular areas in the West Midlands that are just under the market at the moment, so sites that are not in the public domain.”
Darryl Chen
Partner, Hawkins\Brown
“There is a real divide in cultures of developers and architects and it is incredible that even though we do the same thing, we speak different languages. There needs to be more appreciation for what the other does and more trust.”
Justin Black
Development director, Landsec
“When your job title is chartered surveyor you will say anything you can to make it sound mildly exciting or help people understand what it is you actually do. My job in property development is great and exciting, but I do wonder if I am walking the walk that property people would expect. I’m slightly better than a chartered surveyor, but am I a full-on wide boy property developer? Probably not.”
James Sheppard
Director, Macdonald & Company
“Employers need to think about how they can rectify the gender pay gap by giving women returning from maternity leave the salary they should be on rather than the one they were on before they left.”
Taylor Wescoatt
General partner, Concrete Venture Capital
“What would make me back a proptech company? I look for someone who has identified a real need in the sector. I see better businesses that have some real estate expertise in it. And then an innovative, defensible approach on how to solve that problem for the person who faces it every day.”
William Newton
EMEA director, WiredScore
“It is not just jobs in property that will look different in 10-15 years’ time, the whole economy is going to look very different, and our roles on a day-to-day basis are going to have changed quite a lot. That doesn’t mean that we won’t still see the same big-name companies there if they manage to evolve with the changes; but it is only going to happen if they recognise that things are changing, rather than pretending it is all going to stay the same.”
Rebecca Gee
Senior lecturer in real estate and subject co-ordinator, School of Built Environment, Oxford Brookes University
On degrees versus apprenticeships: “I still think there is going to be an awful lot of people who want the university experience. Yes, there is a huge amount of debt, but people want that traditional education and Oxford is a great place to be. The degree apprenticeship is fantastic, people just need to understand it is hard work because you are working and getting a degree at the same time. It is going to attract people who are really committed and bringing something very different to the party.”
Samantha Harden
Business strategy manager, CLS Risk Solutions
“If there’s room for any improvement in the industry it’s in transparency to increase diversity in the workplace.”
Morgan Garfield
Founding partner, Ellandi
“The key to being a good deal-maker is having perseverance and being tenacious. It’s having the belief and energy to invest time in that idea, and you invariably have to convince other people – whether that’s partners, equity providers or debt providers – that your idea is the right idea and it’s something they’ve got to support.”
Images © Ed Telling
To send feedback, e-mail Rebecca.Kent@egi.co.uk or tweet @Writer_RKent or @estatesgazette
