Shopping Centers Today is the news magazine of the International Council of Shopping Centers (ICSC)
Issue link: https://sct.epubxp.com/i/704472
" I r e m e m b e r I w o u l d d r i v e around and look at properties with both daughters, probably more with Bridget than I did with Lily, but Bridget was always inquisitive about the business deal and the rents and the values and just how we were looking at it," said Bill. "My younger daughter would look at it and had re- ally no interest in the numbers side of it, but she'd question the merchan- dise mix of the properties." For Bridget, her father's work began to click. "He started Linear when I was in high school, and I was pretty inquisi- tive at that age anyway," she said, "but that was when I really started under- standing that he was buying these prop- erties, figuring out how to add value and, really, not only build a portfolio that was valuable but also bring these amenities to these communities." After completing an undergraduate degree in economics, Bridget had an epiphany moment while attending the ICSC New York Conference in December 2011. "I went with my dad to see what the whole retail real estate industry was all about, and I really liked that it was a combina- tion of the analytical and a little bit of the creative and a lot of networking, so I decided to start networking myself. I was able to make a transition into JPM- organ's real estate group, but that was really the turning point at ICSC — meet- ing all of the people that my dad had worked with." Bill, too, has fond memories of that New York conference. "It was fun to watch Bridget go around and meet all the people that I knew and the names that she'd heard over the years, and she just seemed to be in her element the first time there," he said. "Everybody remembers their first ICSC show, and just being overwhelmed by all the activ- ity and all the people, but it was really funny — there was no intimidation for her; she was thriving in it from the first moment she stepped into it." His best advice to his daughters was more action-oriented than word-driven, he says. "Hopefully, I've done it by ex- ample, but I've always conveyed to both daughters that you just work hard and be a good person, and good things will happen," he said. Bridget says she has seen it in action. "Whenever I meet people that worked with my dad, they always have good things to say, and that makes me feel re- ally good about where I came from," she said. "In an industry as interconnected as real estate, especially retail real estate, you are always going to be crossing paths with people in your future, and it is so important to build a network of people that respect you and that you can con- tinue to use both as resources and as partners going forward." Bill also imparted a bit of old- school communication guidance to his daughter. "He always has said that everything is handled most efficiently either in person or on the phone, and that you can never properly convey tone in an email," Bridget said. "So probably just to not overly rely on the arms-length email versus getting di- rectly involved." Many father-daughter duos share a common understanding that rein- forces their familial connection. "My dad and I frequently get into pretty in- teresting dinner conversations, and we learn a lot through that just natural, relaxed conversation," Bridget said. "That's been a huge benefit to grow- ing up in the industry. Everything does feel a lot more natural and a lot less forced." Best of all, none of this was planned, according to Bill. "It's something I didn't anticipate with my daughters growing up: being able to talk shop years later," he said. "You always kind of wonder whether either of them would show an interest in real estate or go that route, but now you can totally relate to the issues that you're dealing with rather than just nodding your head and saying yes and not really understanding. It has been a great joy for me." S C T A u g u s t 2 0 1 6 / S C T 59 B i l l a n d B r i d g e t o f B u r l i n g t o n , m a s s . - B a s e d l i n e a r r e t a i l p r o p e r t i e s