<p>Kevin Sullivan, a 2018 <a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-real-estate.html" title="Master's in Real Estate">MS in Real Estate</a> graduate, developed a career in commercial real estate naturally out of his early work in financial services. Sullivan was a Schack Flag Bearer for his graduate work in the real estate finance and investment track—a designation for the student with the top grades in their specialty.&nbsp;</p> <p>Today, he is an assistant VP at PGIM Real Estate and an asset manager in its core plus funds group. &quot;You constantly have to be thinking about trends and where things are going. [It’s] important to know your markets and to stay ahead of the competition,&quot; Sullivan says.</p>

<p>Sullivan graduated from Villanova University in Pennsylvania in 2010, where he studied finance and economics as an undergraduate. He started his career at Prudential Financial in a finance leadership development program that rotates participants across three departments in three years to expose them to different areas of corporate finance.&nbsp;</p> <p>When he began to look at graduate schools, Sullivan was attracted to Schack’s strong academics for part-time students. &quot;It was really helpful for me because I love what I do in my job, and I wanted to continue to progress in that,&quot; he explains. Additionally, unlike traditional MBA programs, Schack enabled him to &quot;work on real estate all day, every day.&quot;</p> <p>Sullivan's experience in the Schack classroom exposed him to new opportunities. For instance, Kevin had the chance to negotiate loan workouts during case competitions with students in other graduate real estate programs. In particular, he points to Professor Manish Srivastava’s course, Advanced Real Estate Development and Investment Transactions, which was structured around case studies of global real estate transactional situations, including acquisitions in India and land sales in the US. Sullivan explains that Professor Srivastava’s class was so compelling that almost all of its students attended the optional additional class sessions.</p> <p>Sullivan started his career at PGIM Real Estate, working with the core funds group, primarily overseeing office investments in the Northeast and South Florida. Always involved on the asset management side, he has covered all property types across many markets during his time with the company.</p>

<p>Throughout his career, Sullivan has focused on office assets concentrated in the DC Metro and South Florida markets. A few years ago, he took the opportunity to move to the core plus funds group, tackling investments with higher risk profiles. Having worked on offices for many years, Sullivan hit the ground running and has been involved with leasing up buildings and overseeing major redevelopment projects, including lobby renovations and adding tenant amenity spaces. &quot;In DC especially, with the amenities in that market, you need to continually make capital improvements to ensure assets perform,&quot; Kevin explains.</p> <p>In that vein, Sullivan is constantly looking at the significant trends in the real estate industry today, including areas such as prop-tech and co-working. Prop-tech, he says, has major implications for the real estate industry overall, which can be slow to adapt to shifts. Additionally, co-working has not only expanded but has become increasingly popular for the clout it can bring to a building. &quot;There are various aspects to co-working that you really need to consider,&quot; Sullivan advises. &quot;It’s something you can’t ignore—it’s driving most of the recent absorption in major markets. But &quot;it’s also [important to] make sure that you have the right credit in place,&quot; he states.</p> <p>Sullivan also suggests that the rise in coworking &quot;speaks to the increasing trend toward more residential and hospitality-type services for [office] tenants.&quot; Yet the desire for more amenity-laden office spaces can be challenging, given rising construction costs. &quot;Trying to figure out ways to bring construction costs down will be critical going forward, as well as having the flexibility to make these shorter-term deals work,&quot; Sullivan says.</p>

<p>Throughout his career, Sullivan has come to value forming and strengthening professional relationships, and getting to know trends and different markets. In addition to the interpersonal component of real estate, Kevin emphasizes personal discipline.</p> <p>That desire to grow is crucial to building a lasting career in the field. Sullivan, who works to understand his markets closely and loves the challenge of learning more, appreciates real estate innovation and shifts, which allows him to stay ahead of the curve.</p> <p>Hats off to Sullivan for letting his ambition and determination lead him to the Schack Institute of Real Estate. See how an<a href="/content/sps-nyu/explore/degrees-and-programs/ms-in-real-estate.html" title="Master's in Real Estate"> MS in Real Estate</a> can take you to new career heights today.</p>