Henry Phillips Career Background
What is your biggest career achievement?
- My most significant career accomplishment is my most recent one. In November 2020 I decided to bet on myself in a way I had never done before. I took a new exciting and challenging opportunity to become a Regional Property Manager with Greystar. Taking on this responsibility while only being 28 puts me in a category as one of the younger Regional Manager's in the Greystar portfolio. I fully understand the responsibility, weight and expectations of the role and how I must overcome the challenges of working with team members who are older than me and in some cases report directly to me. What made this a career defining decision for me is that it required me to leave a company and people whom I had grown up with. Cardinal Group had been my home for six years. They gave me my start in the industry, afforded me opportunities when others would not have. They always believed in me and it was one of the hardest decisions of my life to leave. I recognized if I wanted to be truly great, I needed to expand and learn how others operate, learn different cultures and expand my network. Greystar has welcomed me with open arms and while each day is a new challenge, I do not regret my decision for a moment. I am fortunate enough to have walked away from one great company to have joined another.
Growing up I had dyslexia, school was always a challenge for me, I had an IEP (independent education program) so when I started my career that was a motivating factor to be successful. There was an opportunity to be successful, win awards, be recognized for my successes in ways that I never did in school. I have had several professional successes, after each success I continue to push the milestone for what I consider to be successful. I never settle for “that’s it” or “I have made it” I will never be satisfied in that capacity because the next challenge or opportunity are what drive me. Perhaps it is a bit naïve and I have been told before to enjoy the moment. However, the scars from my school years run deep and I always think of the grade school version of myself who struggled with basic algebra or language arts. I think of him because it is important to remind myself, now as part of my profession I write business plans and develop budgets. These are tools that while I was in school, I never thought I could develop or turn into successful tools in my professional life.
What is your ultimate career goal within the rental housing industry?
- My ultimate goal is to become a CEO. I was fortunate enough to work hand-and-hand with Del de Windt while I worked in business development. Just being able to experience how far his reach went, how he could ultimately turn the tides of the organization with a single decision fascinated me. I enjoy leading by example but learned its imperative to work in a collaborative environment. I will always value how Del trusted me, sought my advice on decisions and truly valued my opinions. I view myself as a technological trail blazer, I look to great CEOs in the tech sector such as Steve Jobs, Elon Musk, and Bill Gates as my blueprint. I blend that with the personal belief I have in the executives I have been fortunate enough to meet, work with and for throughout my tenure as models for success. Whether I become a CEO of an existing company or create my own is still the great unknown for myself. While I continue in my career I am consistently taking in each experience as an opportunity to build towards the future. I want to develop the necessary tools to build a successful business. I am aware I am not there today but that only services to motivate me, push me harder and makes me want it that much more. I know I will be there one day and it will be a result of those relationships and experiences I had throughout my professional career. In the role, I would like to be known as the leader in innovation, I want to set the standard in which others try to duplicate. I want to create change and improve the lives of those who work for me and those who live in the communities under my umbrella.
What's one rental housing trend you have your eye on?
- There are two aspects which have drawn my attention in recent years. The build-to-rent single family homes and co-living developments. These twos sectors of the apartment industry have been rooted somewhat in student housing for years with the cottage style product type and the classic on campus dorms. However, in recent years developers are seeing there is now an opportunity to provide a similar experience to the conventional marketplace. Both offer ample opportunity for innovation technologically, yes but what fascinates me the most is that these two emerging trends are opposites of each other yet share so much in common (beyond just being rentals). Build-to-rent offers a sense of community and ownership like purchasing your own home. Co-living is all about community, you share kitchens and other living spaces. The opportunity to make long last and impactful communities is incredible. I believe these will become the defining parts of many investment funds over the next 20 years.
My generation wants flexibility, we want the opportunity to not be locked into a 30-year mortgage, we recognize there is efficiency in being a renter. However, as we move into our 30s, 40’s and so on the nag to “settle down” and follow the American dream of home ownership becomes greater which is most associated with having a house with the white picket fence.
A build-to-rent home offers the best of both worlds for my generation and is one that will change the landscape of the industry in the coming years. Meanwhile, co-living offers even more flexibility as most of them will come furnish. Students coming out of college now generally do not own furniture and are moving all over the place for new opportunities. We have all experienced, owning just more “things” can ultimately impact someone’s decision to move. I have known many people who have chosen the safe choice because the hassle and struggle of moving seems daunting. In co-living there is more flexibility, you bring your clothes and that’s about it. You also must consider the impact of most jobs being placed behind a computer there is not as much direct human-to-human interaction as there use to be. Even our dating now is primarily through a cell phone! Co-living offers people the ability to break thru that wall and engage in a meaningful way in-person.