Buzz

P11: How long have you been in the home building/multifamily industry? Where did you begin your career? What sparked your interest in it?

VH: I have been involved in marketing since I first started in the building industry in 1978. I began my building industry career working as the Sales and Marketing Assistant for the Donald L. Bren Company, in their new Newport Beach division.  I think what really sparked my interest in marketing was taking all the MIRM courses and seeing all the different facets and disciplines available in the industry and liking the marketing and merchandising field the most and thinking it was a fun arena to work within (and the people involved in marketing seemed like “my people”).  I am sure that this might have been partly due to the first years of my career were spent working in law firms with attorneys (not any disrespect for my colleagues, just a different set of strengths).

P11: In a nutshell, what have you learned during this time? What’s changed?

VH: What I have learned in a nutshell is that it is and has been one of the most creative and dynamic disciplines to be involved in and that it touches and covers and sets the tone for all the other areas of the industry, and not to mention involves the most creative and fun people to work with. I would not say it has changed for me, but I have expanded and focus more of my role in the business of relationship building and development of people and customers, which was probably always my favorite part. Most importantly, I have learned that there are so many amazing and wonderful people in this industry family, and they are the beautiful teachers and mentors who have helped shape my life.

P11: What gets you most excited or motivated about your job?

VH: Meeting people and building relationships and working together in collaboration with others for mutual goals and success, along with giving back to the industry and mentoring the younger generation, is what gets me most excited and motivated about my job.

P11: What current challenges must be faced in the industry?

VH: I think that the biggest challenge in our industry is figuring out how to provide affordable and attainable housing in the current landscape we have to navigate through of all the restrictions, costs, and ever-changing policies of our government that actually hinder us from doing that.

P11: What can we all do today to improve the home building/multifamily industry?

VH: I would say to be advocates for housing by whatever means we each have available to us and to be loud, involved, and active in fighting the battle to providing housing.

P11: What are some of your favorite communities you’ve worked on and why?

VH: I have worked on so many amazing beautiful communities, residences, buildings, and municipalities, it is hard to say what are my favorites, but certainly, the ones that stand out are where I experienced being part of the team and true collaboration with the developers, builders, and the incredible teams of consultants and trades that I had the honor to work alongside and seeing the results of our efforts come to fruition.

P11: What does the word “home” mean to you?

VH: Home to me means the place where my heart is, where I feel safe physically, emotionally and spiritually and I can be seen and heard and be totally myself among family and friends.

P11: Search your imagination. What do you see for the future of the home building/multifamily industry?

VH: What I see for the future of housing? Going back to basics, seeing a need for homes of all types and having the true support and a common collaborative vision between policymakers and the building community to create an environment of ease and simplicity to build and deliver them to fill the need.

P11: What’s something that people don’t know about you that’s fun?

VH: I have always had a secret desire to be in show biz, on the stage, on a talk show, wherever it could happen.

P11: What do you love and appreciate about P11?

VH: What I love and appreciate about P11 is all the people that work there and how each, in their own unique way, is part of what makes them such an amazing company in our industry, and of course, their sense of fun, their individual and collective hearts for charitable causes and their deep sense of collaboration over so many years they have been together. And, of course, the leadership of Lance and Jasvina.

P11: What’s playing on your turntable these days?

VH: Taylor Swift, Coldplay Ed Sheeran, and always Fleetwood Mac and the Eagles.

Stay tuned for more 11 Questions features from the real estate industry’s most prominent and insightful movers & shakers.