M id A tlantic Real Estate Journal — 30 Under 30 — June 17 - July 21, 2022 — 5D
www.marej.com
30 U nder 30
hat is your great- est professional accomplishment? Alex Kouwenhoven, Prologis "At the end of the day everyone who sets out to build a career in the CRE industry is a student of the business" W
organizations, the local Mead- owlands Chamber and enjoy networking. What unique qualities and or personality trait do you feel makes you most success- ful in your profession? One core personality trait that makes me well suited to the commercial real estate industry is my insatiable desire to learn. Purchasing, owning, and operat- ing industrial real estate assets presents constant opportunities to learn as each market, build- ing, tenant and transaction is completely unique. The opportu- nity to work alongside and learn from industry veterans with enormous amounts of experience here at Prologis and our third- party brokers essentially pro- vides a master class in the field. At the end of the day everyone who sets out to build a career in the commercial real estate indus- try is a student of the business. I hope to retain this quality as I progress throughout my career and eventually impart my own wealth of knowledge onto the next generation of professionals. What outside activities
do you enjoy during you free time? I am a life-long outdoorsman. When given the opportunity to escape the confines of my apart - ment and neighborhood in Man- hattan, I enjoy getting out in nature and unplugging whenever possible. My primary pursuit in the outdoors is fly fishing, which I enjoy because it’s meditative while also complex, challenging and often a bit frustrating. Ex- ploring the natural world on the weekends also provides an excel- lent contrast against my week- days spent on the highways and in the warehouses of the NYC metropolitan area. One time those two worlds collided when I ran into a broker, with whom I just completed a lease deal, on a trout stream in the Catskills. What inspiring word of advice would you give to a young executive graduating from college? Be persistent, resilient, and gracious when you set out to establish a career in commercial real estate. There’s no rule that says a closed door isn’t going to open again at some point in the future. MAREJ
Alex Kouwenhoven Leasing Manager Years with company/firm: 1 Years in field: 4 Years in real estate industry: 4 Real estate organizations/ affiliations: NAIOP Member & Developing Leader
The defining professional ac - complishment of my career to date occurred over the course of about six months in 2021. I was working as an office and industrial leasing broker in the boroughs of NYC and was closely observing the impact of the pandemic on the urban leasing markets. During this period of skyrocketing vacancy rates and depleting transac- tional volume, I saw my growth opportunities diminishing, so I began researching other mar- kets and asset classes with the goal of discovering an area the pandemic was impacting dif- ferently. Through this process, I identified and eventually secured an opportunity to join the Prologis NJ team where, conversely, the NJ industrial markets were experiencing historic growth. Since joining the team in August 2021, I have been involved in lease transac- tions totaling over 1 million s/f in a submarket where the average building size is 65,000
s/f. I view this successful pivot and my ongoing adaptation to this new market as the biggest accomplishment of my career to date. How do you contribute to your company and / or the industry? I strive to contribute to the industry by embodying Pro- logis’ core traits, the “Three C’s” – change through innova- tion, customer centricity and culture & talent. Managing the leasing and asset manage- ment of nearly 7 million feet of industrial product in Northern NJ creates an abundance of opportunities for innovation as I am constantly encountering unique situations and explor- ing ways to improve processes
with new approaches. Cus- tomer centricity is another critical part of my role as we have over 100 customers in my submarket. Managing our relationships with these cus- tomers both large and small to ensure they have the resources and services they need to oper- ate at maximum efficiency is critical to our company, the industry, and the economy as a whole. Lastly, I strive to im - pact the culture and talent of my company and the general industrial real estate industry by doing what I can to make the field a more welcoming and inclusive environment for anyone considering a career in commercial real estate. I am involved with several industry
We are the world’s largest owner, operator, and developer of logistics real estate. We lease modern facilities to a diverse base of customers.
PROLOGIS NEW JERSEY / NEW YORK
440 customers 44M square feet 200 buildings
Prologis – NJ/NY One Meadowlands Plaza, Suite 100 East Rutherford, NJ 07073, USA Main: + 1 201 635 6000
www.prologis.com Twitter: @Prologis
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