I didn’t set out to become an owner’s representative when I moved to Southwest Florida.
I was working as a subcontractor at the time, running crews for a stucco and drywall company in Naples. We’d attend project meetings in the GC’s trailer, and there was always this one guy in the corner of the room. Every time a decision came up, the GC would look over and ask, ‘Is that okay?’ The guy would either nod yes or shake his head no.
I went up to the GC after the meeting and asked who that was. He said, ‘That’s the owner’s representative.’
Something clicked. I didn’t want to be at the bottom of the totem pole anymore. I wanted to be that guy.
Years later, when I got my shot working for the Alexico Group in New York City (a prominent development firm responsible for projects like The Mark Hotel, 165 Charles Street, and 56 Leonard), I learned what the role actually demanded. And the first thing I noticed was this: most people in the room didn’t want the responsibility.
The owner asked who was going to call the Department of Transportation to get a street shut down. Nobody looked up. So I raised my hand. The owner asked if I had ever done it before. I replied no. He asked if I knew how. I replied not yet. But I said I’d figure it out, and I did.
That’s the job. It’s not glamorous. It’s not finance. It’s not the law. It’s problem-solving and dealing on behalf of an owner who’s already managing the real stuff: the money, the insurance, the bank.
Owners want the bullet points. Their time is very valuable.
