What is your current role?
People Director.
How long have you been with CBRE | Direct Line?
I started as a consultant for about six months, so I’m coming up on four years as an employee.
What kind of education and training did your career require?
There are many disciplines that people can come from to have a career in Human Resources. Luckily, I found the major—Human Resources at The Ohio State University.
What do you think is needed to be successful in your role?
Patience, flexibility, very good listening skills—listening first, and a strong customer orientation. Human Resource professionals are advocates for employees as well as strategic partners to the business, optimizing how we attract, organize, and engage our people.
What does a typical day look like for you at CBRE | Direct Line?
As most professionals often say, there is no typical day. Of course, there are always meetings about business priorities, problem solving, team information sharing, employee relations issues, and program creation and rollout. What has driven my time at CBRE | Direct Line is a keen focus on making sure we have the right people in the right place at the right time—hiring good people on a timely basis, providing challenging and rewarding opportunities, and meeting client requirements.
What would you like to say to someone interested in applying to work at CBRE | Direct Line?
It is a great time to join the Company—we are growing fast in an industry that is growing fast, and you can learn a lot quickly.
Tell us about your career path at CBRE | Direct Line.
I was fortunate to come into the organization leading the RSG, DLU, HR, Employee Relations, and Safety teams. All these teams are highly dedicated and hardworking and have been instrumental in CBRE | Direct Line’s growth.
What inspired you to pursue a career in technology?
It is the hottest industry with tremendous growth potential. Technology enables everything we do.
What do you love most about what you do?
It is a bit cliché, but I’ll say it anyway. Working with our employees and my teams to help solve problems, improve the culture, and meet our clients’ needs. I’m proud of the foundation my teams helped build to support our tremendous growth, and the growth is only going to be faster.
What are your interests outside of work?
Spending time with my kids and now two grandchildren, golf, reading, and spending time at our house in Delaware.
Tell us a surprising or fun fact about you.
Three of my brothers and I all went through college on a full scholarship based on golf caddying (yes, Caddie Shack was made after a real scholarship program—albeit I did not need to win the caddie tournament to get the scholarship). I’ve caddied for Gerald Ford, George H.W. Bush, Bob Hope, and some others that only those my age would remember!
