Leah Dillon and Mary Lang are colleagues at the Prologis Manhattan office. Leah is SVP of client relations for strategic capital fundraising. Mary is SVP of dispositions for the Americas. Both women are passionate champions for Prologis and the industrial real estate industry. In their positions, they represent the brand to a range of stakeholders. “I think sometimes we may forget that it is our job to look after the company and make sure it’s in a good place when we leave,” said Leah. “We need to make sure the firm is future-proof in terms of talent.”
Leah and Mary have found that the universities to which they are connected by degree or proximity are great places to promote the Prologis brand and recruit talent. Both visit their alma maters regularly for recruiting and networking events. Meeting future colleagues in the early stages of their careers has helped build enduring relationships.
Recently, the two discovered a new avenue to reach future leaders in logistics real estate. One of the strategic capital business clients at CBRE Global Investors is a Columbia Business School alumnus. He helped his alma matter, in conjunction with London Business School, develop a program where real estate industry experts serve as guest lecturers. To cover different aspects of the industry, each session features a different real estate company. Leah and Mary were asked to represent Prologis, focusing on the owner/operator perspective. They spoke to more than 50 master’s candidates from Columbia Business School, London Business School and other international exchange programs.
Different from a career fair, participating in lectures as part of a student’s curriculum encourages engagement in a more tangible way. Students can see firsthand what the real estate industry looks like.
In their lecture, Leah and Mary focused on shifting perspectives on investing in logistics real estate, burgeoning demand and how Prologis warehouses are the Last Touch® before goods arrive at consumers' doorsteps. They spoke about the global flow of goods, and the role of logistics in making modern life possible. They discussed Prologis' unique owner/operator perspective, and how our business gives us a lens on the world economy and global supply chains. “There’s more macroeconomics and geopolitical intrigue with industrial product when you are a global owner, operator and developer,” explained Leah.
In Mary’s portion of the lecture, she highlighted Prologis Georgetown Crossroads in Seattle, the first multistory warehouse development in the U.S. Reflecting on the question-and-answer session following their presentation, Mary said, “The students understood the demand drivers and the geographic constraints that impact the decision to go vertical. They asked about the cost differential for a multistory building and wanted to better understand pre-leasing demand.”
According to Mary, students were eager to learn more about Prologis and industrial real estate. They were intrigued by Prologis’ research and development capabilities, shift to customer centricity and commitment to keeping customers ahead of what’s next.
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