I value how people steal myself uh you know giving myself to anything that I do you know when I relate with other people and and and we need to achieve something it's better to bring your your best eye okay your bright side [Music] back everybody to Connected conversation season three I'm Bob mostaccetti this season has been a really interesting introspective season as we cover the why for corporate real estate influencers we've had some great guests on the show and I am really happy to have this guest with me today this person is somebody that I've known through the industry um he's a very professional person he's a very enthusiastic person he's a very bright person he's somebody that everybody has a lot of respect for and I have a great deal of respect for as well that person I'm speaking of is Louise May harm from Newmark he is the executive managing director and Global FM lead who is with us today Louise hello did I get the last name right I know you you you you did you did right it is understood I did okay Louise thank you for having me but thank you so much thank you yes it is amazing I'm a little bit intimidated let me tell you I've seen your podcast and a lot of people you have here uh had already in the past a few of my friends and thank you for that intro of myself I think I don't deserve but but I appreciate it um yeah I've been in the industry uh for 20 years uh but I didn't start it like many of us in this industry this is probably my third career path okay the longest for sure I I am an aeronautical engineer you didn't know that yes I don't know the gun engineer uh by trade um and uh I started my career flying uh debts okay uh passenger Jets many many years ago um and then um for some reasons I needed to leave my country and I went to Spain and I started my second career on the infrastructure award so I used my knowledge of aeronautical engineer and I kind of transferred that to uh infrastructure roads Bridges uh tunnels and I was there for 10 years in that in that area and that market very very great I mean I enjoyed a lot during that time working internationally worked for a couple of projects for the World Bank in in development countries and then I started in a in a company in Spain a small company compared with I mean the big company have worked later um a division to do integrated mindedness at the time a facility management was not very well known in Europe only in the UK probably but not in Europe but certainly not in Spain so I started there and then after that I really started in the facility Management corporate real estate industry around 2005 when I transitioned to Johnson Controls so from there on I have been in this industry in different roles both on the service provider side on the client side which have given me an amazing perspective of the business and pretty integrated view of what this business means uh for you know the market itself to support uh other companies in achieving their their goals when they are not in our industry so that's me I I gotta stop I got a million I got a million you just you you blew me away I had no idea so first of all where were you born I was born in Cuba uh you're born in Cuba so you went from Cuba there yeah yeah well well my friend that's more complicated than that from Cuba I went to Ukraine see the flag there I went I I live in Ukraine for six and a half years of my life so I studied there so which by the way right now is that situation kind of makes me very sad how what how is that country in the situation they are having right now with with the war and things I have still have friends there so um yeah so and then from there to Spain so that's a two steps so where did you train to be a commercial airline pilot I I trained in Ukraine yeah in Ukraine yeah how how did you tell us about that how did you well it is it's very simple you you when you so I needed to to take the road of Exile and to leave my country I couldn't practice my profession there so I I went to Spain and when you when you are in that situation you don't have too much to choose okay so you need to uh you need to first try to sustain your family and at the time also only my wife and I but obviously we had plans and we had to still the the broader family that you support being a good son or a good grandson so um I had that opportunity so I was like you know don't forget about the aviation but I needed to take an opportunity on the infrastructure uh sure yeah and that changed my life for better I totally believe that doing and doing that transition changed my life for the better and that's the reason I'm here today because from there I started to talk about mindfulness about infrastructure about the cycle of the earning assets all of those things were transferable skills that I brought to my current uh career path yeah the third one um so it was it was it was great I came back to Russia I worked for the World Bank in Russia uh developing some programs for their roads and road construction for two and a half two and a half years and then from there I came back to Spain and then went to different countries yeah so do you do I'm gonna go I'm still hung up on the fact that you're a pilot do you fly a German fly engineer not a pilot I used to fly in the middle or in the back of the pilots yeah okay but do all the system all the so three computers for me right now that I have in front of me is nothing compared with what I used to see in my sitting in my seat at the at the plane very good very good so I I gotta say you you win you win the award for the most fascinating back you just threw a huge girl I did not expect any of that I did not expect any of that so as we look at this amazing story right Luis I also look at you and I say how old are you I mean you seem to live like you've lived like 10 lives I don't need you to tell me but you've lived like yes I can I get you can say that to be honest 55 man in 55 I believe yes there's so many lives my goodness my goodness so that's a perfect that's a perfect segue into what we're talking about my god I didn't even realize what a perfect guest you are for this so as we segue into the topic of this season so you've been you've lived this life you've lived it sounds like a movie Luis your your life sounds like a movie so as we get into the the world that we live in now Facilities Management corporate real estate you know we see each other at conferences why do you do it still and why do you do it with so much enthusiasm and the if I had to describe you in one word Luis it would be bright like you bring a brightness to everything so why why are you still here what what brings you Joy and what's your relationship with your career today thank you for that I I to be honest I did not try to do that on purpose is the way I relate to whatever I do and I suppose people would have said the same in my other careers okay because I love interacting with people and and this is a bigger interaction okay when you are imagine the aviation okay when you are in a cabin three people basically is a scenario a crew and then you go to this Market when micro today is 300 and 355 people okay so it's a bigger it's like a big board a big plane yeah so I kind of interact with all the passengers so and not only that you interact with your your clients and your customers and and the visitors and things like that in an industry so look I I am full of energy I think uh I value how people see myself uh you know giving myself to anything that I do and if you see me down it's because I am very very down okay and and there are things that obviously put me down uh but the reality is that you know when I relate with other people and and and we need to achieve something it's better to bring your your bedside okay your bright side we do this for a living and and if you do this for a living you better enjoy okay and look I enjoy it a lot playing golf for example is one of my hobbies and the things that I I like so but when I when I am at work I am no different than I am playing I most recognize I enjoy more being on the course than being yeah uh working but if if you bring that mindset of the first tea first tea emotion you can it transpires and hopefully it contaminates others when when you work with you not only your teammates your uh your repertees or direct reports or your bosses but also your clients and people that interact with you and by the way one of the things that I I I like about this 20 years in this industry is the friendships and the relationship I have done I have created using that Mantra you know uh and yeah it's it's been has been great yeah yeah and I I agree with you because I always say this to people whether it's somebody I'm working out with or somebody I'm working on a project at work the way you do anything is the way you do everything just what you said on the golf course I bring I bring my best in the workplace I bring my best and I think for the younger generation I think that's a really good teaching point it's like the way whether you're into video games whether you're into sports whether you're into fitness bring that same energy and bring that same enthusiasm to your work and to anything you do in life because if you don't you'll feel very unfulfilled totally I mean somebody said that so sex is not key to happiness is happiness but it's key to success and and as the other way I miss it and that that's what it is I mean you you should not work to get the happiness or do anything together but you bring the happiness and so sex was come along even when they're ups and down in in your career and in your day-to-day um in your relationship with you know your colleague to a plane so if you do that Consciousness or unconsciousness um uh you will you probably will be successful and I'm don't consider myself myself successful I mean I just consider myself a good good professional you as you said at the at the beginning and then uh somehow accomplishing some things that I have done and others probably not yeah to me you're successful because you exude what you just described that that enthusiasm and that happiness and if you have those things then you're successful so from my perspective you're very successful in that regard so with all those things with with all that approach to your work to your life to your hobbies so you're obviously capable of doing a lot of things right so you're a jack of all trades why are you still in this space leading a team of 300 Professionals for one of the biggest real estate firms in the world well specifically now at Numark yes um I think we have a big opportunity to uh build something not from scratch but based on the history of this company have which is amazing and and and the the history of Acquisitions and putting together a plan to create a global corporate service Division I think I saw the opportunity first of all to work with an amazing group of people okay otherwise I wouldn't come I mean my our team right now is very strong and is is Ensemble of very very talented people from different places of the industry I had the opportunity again to work with some of my old former colleagues talking about friendships about long-lasting relationships that you create uh uh across the years when you have a good performance and people look at you that way and third I thought this is a a training for me is is it still knowledge that I will acquire doing this that I haven't done this level in the past so this is a new territory for me growing an international Global business uh not from scratch but almost creating a new team and ensembling people from you know the history of the company with the new blood that is coming from other places and and look is is going really well I mean we are having fun very important piece of working with me I want my team my people to have fun while they are doing that and if we achieve that again we bring happiness we are going to be successful so I'm I'm I'm very very fortunate to have this opportunity and hopefully it will it will end in the right place yeah and I think my career was I never plan to end up in this space I accidentally fell into this world 20 years ago in New York City but the point is what I liked and what part of my why is my career kept growing and new challenges kept presenting themselves and I was able to be approach them the same way enthusiastic apply what I learned in the past take on a new role and in that new role learn something that I could potentially apply in the future and it sounds like that's same thing kind of happened to you to where your career and where you were in the corporate real estate facilities World presented new challenges that excited you is that fair to say 100 and you by the way everything that you're saying to me is kind of you can put a mineral because you are I I love your enthusiasms the things you do how you you know connect with the market and connected us through you and through this podcast is a great example of that I'll tell you one thing once I decided that this would be my I didn't I didn't at the beginning I didn't think it would be a 20-year career probably I will retire already in this career because when I'm having fun and the second I mean to all to start a new one okay but but the reality is that once you decide that at least in my case I put myself 100 so meaning yeah I became member of isma I started to study I went to conference I presented in some of the forums I became a board member of Euro FM I've been all over Europe working on the FM when European was we had only you know 23 corporations sponsors that were our members and I was a board member trying to bring companies and we put together a lot of you know uh stakeholders of the market supporting that then I came to us I was always supporting ifma in Spain and I came to us uh I I found it so I was one of the founder members of of the coordinate uh at the time was a networking group in Spain yeah okay so 20 25 people got together too much wine for 25 people after that they had event by the way but it was amazing we did it at Microsoft in Madrid and then I came here again I reconnected with the with the industry I tried to train myself to these opportunities so you got no way for things to happen you need to get ready for when that thing happened that opportunity comes you are prepared to take on the challenge and you will never be 100 prepared don't expect that and I never I am as I told you I'm still learning I'm a serious I am seriously still learning but I think I was half ready to take on this role or take the previous role or take the previous role every one of them every one of them I was like I know a little bit of this but I'm gonna have to figure out you know the other the other 50 of the exactly like and what what you have to avoid though and if this could be a teaching moment for any of the younger generation listening to this podcast you can't fall into what's called The Imposter syndrome you can't feel like I'm not good enough I'm not really this guy for a longest time when I was when I took on a sales role I didn't feel like a salesperson I'm like oh I'm not a salesperson but yet I was you know winning contracts and helping customers succeed it's like you are a salesperson you may approach it differently or think about it differently but you can't you can't fall into that I'm not good enough I'm not you know and it sounds like you never you always approach it as this is a new challenge I am good enough and I'm going to learn learn the rest of it right is that fair to say fair great that's exactly what I what I wanted to say if somebody here these is that you need to you know overcome those fears and the Imposter say there is a good example you will have it whether or not you just need to overcome yeah yes and and and be over it and there are so many resources in in this industry another I know that why I am here is I just I just last week we went to we had a a small gathering of the sponsor of the coordinate chapter here in in and the Bay Area speaking about how we support the industry how we support a new generation and there are resources for anyone to grow yeah and if you have an English an industry that is so collaborative like this one um you I mean you you should stay okay I I was listening to your postcard the other the podcast from Anya great friend of mine Annie austrate about yeah don't be a broker ever yes like that father and and he said look this is an industry that I I bring anyone if people ask me what do you think should I go to the to the corporate real estate yes Don't Think Twice if you if you don't want to be you know uh a civil engineer or an architect or even if you're an academic but if you want to have a brother if you're a people person and definitely a sales component is in every single thing we do yeah everything um this is a great a great industry to be on and you know speaking about uh the situation that we are having here in Silicon Valley right now with the bank and probably you heard about it obviously and not only our Silicon Valley Bank but others by the we are a contra crisis industry we as part of our industry is totally Contra crisis so we may have a great opportunities to redo or reoriented those portfolio or improve the services to those employees so there are a lot of things that happens that happen in the industry when when the the economic cycle is down we may go up so yeah it's a great way also to you know get some Financial stability and and you know support yourself and your family well I like what you just said there about looking for opportunities to basically help to where if there there's a crisis going on those of us in this industry can find ways to improve certain aspects of the circumstance by virtue of what we do is that is that fair and yeah exactly what you think as you were speaking I got an announcement that Silicon Valley had 2.6 billions in Loans To Go For Real Estate so that's how that how in external factors can influence our industry from one Friday to one morning so we didn't know that last week of the beginning of the week so imagine how impactful uh uh macroeconomical um topics issues or situations can influence this industry like any other but definitely this one because we are we we operate across every single industry yeah a very as I said I think the the skills the knowledge that you acquire in this industry are very transferable to any others I've been twice in the banking industry that's why in my life and so on the uh on the service on the client side so on the occupier side and you know it was very not simple I would say you you need to learn you need to change a little bit your your way of seeing the corporate real estate when you are a client when you are a service provider but your skills your knowledge are totally you know um transferable to one position on another so yeah another another advantage of being in this industry yeah so let me let me ask you this Elise as I sit through and I'm listening to your story and again in a lot of ways you're inspiring me um with you know your story and you're out I like your outlook I really like your outlook and it's you know I think anybody would work for you would be lucky to work for you with you anybody and I'm not just saying that because you it's infectious you know you said that earlier it's really infectious so let me ask you this do you Mentor do you Mentor any of the younger do you have people that you Mentor yeah yeah I have done that officially through mentorship programs especially with ifma here in the Bay Area uh but I always do that unofficially okay I have a couple of people right now that you know son of a friend or a daughter of a friend that is you know asking me what do you think and that was a big big moment in my life I should tell you you I feel very young okay I feel I don't feel that I can mentor somebody because I need mentorship okay uh but the moment I have my first time my first Mentor mentorship like somebody asked me hey I want you to be my mentor I was like what are you asking me what do you think I know okay and over the years probably the last 10 years I've been mentoring somebody yeah uh and and and that's on the kind of more structural plan and the non-structural point I do have people from all over the globe you I I suppose you have the same people write you in LinkedIn I do not I don't have any anybody that write me in LinkedIn asking me for something related to work some you know on unsolicited things I do not but if you right man said what do you think to reply for this job or what do you think about this I am studying the FMP if you are a diva or MCR what do you think that will be applicable I will always respond so in that sense yes and I am very very happy oh look I tell one one of my mentees recently in the next five years you will you will be so I'm here now yeah right and that person is growing growing growing I think in the next five years so from now to five years from now that would change so it would be I hope at some point I will have one of my bosses one of my mentees to be honest now would be a great lesson to me and humbling experience but that will happen if you don't if you are not ready for that it's wrong I mean that will happen because it's a normal process you know and you know it's uh I hope that will happen soon to be honest yeah and in a lot of ways like my career I can attribute a lot of My Success in my career to what you just described there and Richard hubery right you know Richard hubery yeah Richard hubery means the world to me yeah I would not be in this industry without Richard hubery Richard hubry um actually helped Implement an iwms system or at the time it was cathum yeah Capital system helped Implement that and then he moved on from the company he was at and uh I was doing some other things and I ran into and he said hey Bob I'm at this company right now we're looking for people like you who know this space I'll give you a call and he called me and Luis I was getting ready to take a construction job I was getting ready to take a construction job and this was right before um the mortgage crisis back in you know 2009 2008 yeah yeah yeah so and they were all they were freezing all construction they were construction I would have been low man on the totem pole they were letting people go but he brought me in and he trained me he took me to meetings and I would sit there and he would give me he would give me all the Dirty Work he'd he'd do all the talking and say okay Bob now you got to go do you these spreadsheets do these requirements documents do all these things and at the time I was just so grateful because I saw the way things were going in the industry and in in the World At Large and I still had a job and I had a job where I was making more money than I ever made before and here I am all these years later still doing it and I see Richard at Coronet and he's like Bob I just I love what you've been doing and now I'm a vice president and um he's just so proud of me I know he is he's just so proud of me and you know you know him I know him we all talk and we work we're working on some stuff together and it all comes together but without people like Richard hubery and the luis's of the world I mean it it's up to you all and me too I love I love mentoring the Next Generation and I love spending the time with with my much younger colleagues who are new to their career we need people like you Luis and I I need you to keep I I'm asking you as somebody who's a product of great mentors right I had many mentors and I've talked about this before Richard's just the perfect one to talk on because he still works with you mark you know him I know him it's part of the reason why we're kind of all talking in general is we need people like you who used to stay engaged with the ithma stay engaged with the coronets so that you can usher in that next generation of leadership yeah you don't need to convince me I am I am all in to be honest and I uh you know I was in the if my global war for three years that's the term you have there I I continue there I want to dedicate more time now to coordinate after you know especially here in my chapter is a very um impressive and very um active chapter here in the West in the north nor called chapter and and the president is a good friend of mine one of those people I met in this industry Larry Warfare a good friend and other people there um Rafi or Speedy so in the Bay Area you have plenty of people to be in this podcast and you will be amazed with their stories and things like that but but I am I I think that's my uh if there will be some Legacy would be that you know the the people that will be behind us doing a set hey I you know like like you did now for Richard I hope somebody would say about me yeah it would be great one person enough 10 even better but I'm sure you know uh and look and I have done this in multiple contracts multiple places so I I see some people that started with me as a receptionist receptionist okay and they are now vice president of companies in in Europe doing you know multinational business and I'm ready and and at the time when you know when you you take a person that is a receptionist because it's a story I mean it's just it was John was the first job they took and said I see an opportunity in you and you can do this other job I said oh I don't think so maybe yes do it do it and then one step another step another then you look back and said you were in the reception so every time I see a reception say you can be an account manager you know that every time yeah he said you want to be an account manager you can be you can be me you can be whatever because this is a market that allows you to learn uh empirically yeah everything that we do yeah including that one or an analyst doing uh brokerage you know analysis that um good friend of mine was an analyst at CBRE large is I don't know it's a very prominent researcher and said uh look at that you know and that has happened in only five years imagine what can happen in 10 yep yeah impressive yeah so as we wrap things up here I think that's the perfect note to kind of end on what I take away from this and I always like to end these with kind of you know what I take away and then a little bit of gratitude and towards you um what I take away from this this conversation with you Luis is the way you do anything is the way you do everything and if we can you know make that impression on the younger generation to remember as they approach their careers their personal lives um to keep consistent and keep that consistent enthusiasm and when you're doing you shouldn't succession make you happy but when you find happiness you're successful and I think that's the most um genuine and most heartwarming message I can get out of one of these conversations you are exactly as I build you to be you are eloquent you're professional you're bright you're enthusiastic and for all those reasons Luis I want you to remember you're successful you're successful for all those reasons and I learned that from you and I am um putting that back out there to you and I really appreciate you taking this time with us today I appreciate all the work you do in ifma entered both uh both here in the United States and internationally Coronet the same having people like you in the industry gives me great hope that we are setting this up for a much brighter future so thank you very much Luis I really appreciate the time you spent with me today my name is Bob masuchetti with movolo that's Luis mayhorn uh you do much better than I do I've flunked Spanish uh from Newmark this is connected conversations I thank you for tuning in and we'll see you on the internet thank you very much bye bye foreign [Music]