In this episode, host David Abrams is in conversation with Sonny Kalsi, Co-CEO at BentallGreenOak. Sonny’s career journey began working in investment banking at Morgan Stanley on Wall Street after completing his studies in finance. He had an opportunity to rotate from mergers and acquisitions to join the real estate group, which he thought would only last a year or so, but it stuck and he feels very fortunate to still be working in commercial real estate. Sonny has lived and worked in 6 different countries, and that experience is just one of the reasons why he has stayed in the industry so long. Sonny started GreenOak in 2010 and sometime later, a former Morgan Stanley colleague, Amy Price, then President at Bentall Kennedy connected to say, “I have this crazy idea”. A year later they got married, and their union created BentallGreenOak. We both share a passion for buildings, or “battleships'' as Sonny likes to call them. I really enjoyed hearing about his family story and our discussion about real entrepreneurship. Sonny shared his thoughts on technology disrupting CRE and the impact it’s having on each sector of the industry. We talk about buildings and cities and the idea of placemaking, as well as the partnership between landlords, tenants and government. Sonny highlighted several ways that technology can improve the customer experience and also impact property management to help drive efficiency, find cost savings, and contribute to sustainability. Our conversation was free-flowing and super engaging and I look forward to continuing to stay connected with Sonny.

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