2026 Ones to Watch - Rising Stars: Shaun McDonnell, Standard Brokerage Company

“Shaun has become the firm’s go-to resource through his reliability, market knowledge, and team-first approach. Since joining SBC, he has played a key role in several of the Capital Regions most notable commercial real estate transactions and has earned the trust of clients and colleagues through his professionalism and work ethic. Shaun consistently takes transactions from start to finish, handling challenges with adaptability, responsiveness, and a strong commitment to client service.” 

What inspired you to pursue a career in your industry, and what path brought you to your current role?

Right out of college, I spent 15 years working on Wall St. but always had an interest in real estate and development. When I attended graduate school, I was able to take an elective focused on commercial real estate and learn underwriting, Argus, and the CMBS markets, which really inspired me to make a career change. My background in finance has been a huge help in assisting clients with their underwriting.

What accomplishment or project so far in your career are you most proud of?

A few months after I started on the brokerage side of the industry, I had the opportunity to work on an assignment finding a manufacturing facility for a Canadian HDPE pipe manufacturing company. They were looking to open their first U.S. location, and we worked on a multi-state, multi-market search for them. They ended up going BTS, which was the first project I was able to see go from raw land through the approvals and construction process to a fully operational location.

Who has been a mentor or influential figure in your career, and what is the most valuable advice they have shared with you?

Tyler Culberson hired me to transition from appraisal/consulting work to the brokerage industry. He had a reputation for being the hardest worker in Upstate NY, but I didn’t realize what an excellent teacher he was until I started working with him. One of the most important things he taught me was the value of getting in the car and driving around. There are countless online resources for commercial real estate, but people pay brokers for market knowledge. Getting in the car and understanding the market is how you gain that knowledge and stay one step ahead.

What trends or opportunities do you see shaping the future of your industry?

Everyone relies on data to make decisions, regardless of what industry they work in. I think there is a great opportunity to improve property, tenant, and ownership data in secondary and tertiary markets. We have seen some cutting-edge platforms that look amazing in major metros but fall short in secondary and tertiary markets because they don’t have good data. With advancements in computing power and AI over the past few years, it’s only a matter of time before that technology makes its way into public records and tax assessment systems in rural towns, helping everyone access better data.