Executive of the Month: Hennessy, New York Tri-State president of Cassidy Turley - Leads by example and fosters a team environment

We recently had a question and answer session with Peter Hennessy, president, New York Tri-State, Cassidy Turley. Q: You've been at Cassidy Turley for two years now. What has been your greatest success? A: Our team has had some great successes including some very high profile transactions for clients including Random House, Coty, NBC Sports, City Harvest and Guggenheim Partners. I'll never fully remove myself from working directly with my clients. It helps me to stay attuned and fully engaged with the market from all aspects as we grow and build our business. I don't think it's about pointing to one or two specific accomplishments, but instead the overall positive direction the office and company are moving. We've been working towards expanding our market share not only from a transactional standpoint, but also from a service one as well. We have a strong portfolio of properties we continue to manage, our project management team has grown tremendously, and we're continuing to expand our coverage; Thomas Traugott, our new data center specialist based in New York just joined a few weeks ago. Q: What are the biggest initiatives for the last quarter of this year? A:Two things - to continue to recruit the next level of talent and invest in resources and infrastructure. Right now, we're fortunate to have a strong leadership team with amazing experience and knowledge of the industry. We continue cultivating our junior and mid-level brokers and recruiting more professionals to strengthen our already deep bench of talent and groom tomorrow's real estate leaders. The other major focus heading into 2013 is our continued investment in resources and infrastructure to streamline operating platforms, ensuring our team has the best tools within the industry to serve our clients. We're spending over $10 million to integrate, or rather create, a cohesive platform that will unite financial, customer relations and market research - all of the behind-the-scenes work that helps us generate new business while enabling us to better help our existing clients to reach their real estate goals. We're still working on some of the challenges, but its all part of what makes this an exciting opportunity to create exactly what we want. Q: How does your leadership style influence the corporate culture at Cassidy Turley? A: I learned early on in my career that teams win more than individuals. When I was at Staubach and learning the business, Roger Staubach had a simple message, which is you've got to give ordinary individuals the opportunity to do extraordinary things. I try to lead by example and work hard to foster a team environment to reinforce less lip service and a more positive environment. Our offices are all the same size - I don't have a giant corner office with some overwhelming, unapproachable, giant mahogany desk, it's just not what I want to relay. In fact, corner offices do not exist in our office - every corner is a conference room designed for teaming and group discussions. We work in a collaborative environment and business can take place anywhere - during an impromptu meeting in our café-style pantry, in one of the many conference rooms, casual meeting areas or a brainstorming session around the coffee table in my office. Patience is also critically important in leadership. It's something I am always continuing to work on. It is so important to understand although there may be hundreds of goals you want to accomplish, a company or individual can really only achieve a fraction of that in any given year. The key to consciously identify and prioritize what will drive the business (or you personally) to the next level is crucial towards achieving those tasks. Without patience, that can be extremely difficult. That said, more organizations die from indigestion than starvation. Many organizations spend too little time on too many goals and objectives. We want to focus on discipline. We target three to five key objectives, do them well and then move on to the next set. Q: What factors are going to contribute to the state of the commercial real estate market in 2013? A: We keep a close eye on market fluctuations so we can advise our clients appropriately. In addition to our in-house research, we also utilize the vast network of resources at our disposal to help clients achieve their goals. Having a team of experts who understand what these factors translate to in real dollar and cents for their clients is what helps build trust. As with every relationship, once there's trust, proactivity and creativity become second nature. Q: Is the election really influencing real estate decisions? Or are other factors at play? A: I would say the election is one factor among many that will influence a company's decision as to whether they want to renew, relocate or expand. The real factor is stability. Businesses, not just in New York, but globally look for stable economic environments before making major investments - and real estate is a major investment, usually only second to employees. If they have an opportunity to delay making a decision until the election is over - they will. Yes, the potential changes in tax structure or a business friendly or non-friendly environment will play a role but it's really the unknown that drives or delays the market. Q: What is the hottest submarket in New York City and why? A: Everyone is talking about Midtown South and it really is the area's time to shine. There is great demand and growing business sectors that are driving the need. And although Midtown and even the Plaza District may be the tired, older areas, I wouldn't ignore them. There are great trophy properties that are attractive to certain businesses that still require those distinctive addresses. Q: What industry sector do you see the most growth or activity from a real estate point of view? A: On the project services side, we're seeing a lot of change within financial services. Older, traditional companies are looking to update themselves with more open office plans, similar to what we did in our own space. Law firms are integrating more technology into their practice and that is changing their needs for storage, filing and impacting the footprint of the entire office.