The Leader - March/April 2008 - (Page 110)

youNG leader by megan mccann stephanie pater tribune’s stephanie pater recoGNiziNG partNer taleNt Stephanie Pater came to the real estate business by accident. As a student at Emory University in Atlanta, she found a posting for a research position with a commercial brokerage firm. “My first job was as a researcher tracking speculative development in suburban Atlanta – my learning started from the ground up,” Pater explains. “One of my now good friends and certainly one of my mentors won a large amount of transaction business from American Express and needed someone who could track and monitor all of the projects.” As time went on, her role evolved and, after acquiring her real estate license, she took responsibility for many of the projects. Thus, became her introduction to “corporate” real estate. She credits her client at the time, Ellen Scherer, with teaching her about the true nature of the job of a corporate real estate professional. “You are the translator of ‘real estate speak’ to business people who want only to understand how space and spend impacts their productivity and revenue,” she says. She also credits former CoreNet Global Chairman, Jeff Elie, who gave her the opportunity to work in her first internal corporate position at Kaplan, Inc. “During my three years there as a Real Estate Director, I put all previous experience to the ultimate test,” she says. “I worked with some incredibly challenging clients, and diligently focused on winning their confidence through providing concise information, rationale for recommendations, and delivery of results.” A short stint heading up real estate for a major law firm in Chicago was another professional growing experience for Pater. She learned about developing strategy and managing lease transactions, as well as oversight of design and construction of facilities. Then, she was offered an opportunity at Tribune to manage a diverse portfolio and partner with people she considers among the “smartest individuals in our business.” Pater, currently Director of Corporate Real Estate at Tribune, says she strives to learn more about this industry each day, and she does so through classes and networking. “Without question, the definitive go-to source for knowledge in the classroom is CoreNet Global and the EDP sessions offered,” she says. “The subject matter is relevant and applicable to what I confront daily. But, with time constraints we all face, I know that it is through the relationships that I have built with people in our industry – many of whom are CoreNet Global members – my learning is daily and never ending. There is not a week that goes by that I’m not learning through simple dialogues with colleagues, mentors, and friends.” as for tHe future of tHe iNdustry? “There is no doubt that we are all being asked to do more with less,” Pater says. “However, despite the seeming decline in the number of ‘corporate real estate executives,’ there will be a unilateral recognition of the talent that exists and that should be relied on that resides with subject matter experts on the service provider side.” Pater considers those so-called service providers she works with as partners. “And without them, I could not do my job,” she says. Finally, she says the remaining internal jobs will have demands of high thought and strategy, not tactical work to manage. Those positions will be held by people who wholly embrace the integration of all workplace aspects – HR, IT and real estate will be addressed in concert. Pater grew up in Europe as an Air Force brat, and traveled extensively as a child. She graduated from Emory University with a degree in Psychology. Pater lives with her husband, Mike, and 8-year-old son, Mac, in Chicago. 2 0 0 8 tHe le ade r 110 M a r c H / ap r i l

Table of Contents Feed for the Digital Edition of The Leader - March/April 2008

The Leader - March/April 2008 Leadership Contents Message from the CEO Real Estate in the News Taking CRM Programs to the Next Level A Commitment to Sustainability GSA’s National 3D-4D-BIM Program Sustainability at ABN-AMRO Getting to the Real Issues in Today’s Competitive Marketplace ManPower Consolidates Real Estate & Project Management with One Provider HP's Renee Leach and Team Como's Robin Harris San Antonio's Mario Hernandez Chicago Workplace, Mid-Atlantic, and Boston The Gold Standard: California Is the State for Innovation Pat Crumley: Education Is a Path to Success Postcards from the Edge Tribune's Stephanie Pater Economic Development in the News A Look Ahead EDP Continues Expansion in Asia-Pacific

The Leader - March/April 2008

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