What do you love most about the real estate and development industry?
The great thing about working in real estate is seeing the bricks and mortar go up, and families moving into the building. We are city builders, contributing to the fabric of our urban environment in very tangible ways. At Cape Group, we constantly talk about our children and their experience growing up and living in future Vancouver, and it motivates us to build projects they would be proud of one day.
What are the biggest challenges you face in your role?
Another thing I love about development is being at the intersection of such a vast array of professional disciplines and areas of civic life, but is also the greatest challenge. From sewers to streets to trees to transit to community gardens to public outreach and council hearings, a project will touch all areas of city life and needs to bring those elements together to be successful. It is certainly not for the faint of heart!
What would a typical day look like for you?
Every morning I am on deck for daddy duty until 8am with our newborn, Owen, then I am either flinging emails or making phone calls to various consultants for about 2 hours before a coffee top-up with my team. The middle of the day and early afternoon is typically full of meetings with planners, stakeholders, lawyers, and our design teams. I try to get in a walk after lunch, rain or shine, to stretch the legs and have some good strategic thinking quiet time. In the afternoon it’s back to writing emails and checking in with the team before heading back for daddy duty.
What was the last book you read?
I’m reading several books right now!
Last book I finished was Defeat into Victory: Battling Japan in Burma and India, 1942-1945, by Field-Marshal Viscount Slim – an incredible account of resourcefulness, strategic insight, humility and good management under incredible pressure and hardship.