Why did you choose real estate as a career?

The real estate sector found me. I had experience in technology and was hired into the industry 20 years ago to help launch an early proptech company, before we called it proptech. But it was my personal passion for places that hooked me, and how much people in our industry can help shape the human experience in our cities.

I’m fascinated by the connection between people, places and culture, and in 2018 did a TEDx talk introducing a concept called “place purpose” about creating places that meet human - not just developer - needs. 

There are many inspiring and enlightened developers, but others seem to rush into “placemaking” without thinking too deeply about who they are making it for, what they care about, and why they are making what they are making. I believe place purpose increases the competitive advantage and financial viability of projects, and have built my career around that.

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