Special OTR: The Industry Remembers Susan Hudson-Wilson

Thank you to everyone for sharing your thoughts, feelings and stories about Susan Hudson-Wilson who died suddenly on October 5, 2012.  She was 60.  I just wanted to share these with you.  The loss to Susan's family is unimaginable.  And we have lost one of our our own.

(Note: The original column is at the end )

• "I had the great benefit to having worked with SWH "I had the great benefit to having worked with SHW on a number of occasions, and she was an inspiration." Jon Lekander,Global Head-Property Multi-Manager, Aberdeen Asset Management 

• "I was among those who was more the beneficiary of her research and thought-leadership.  I met her a number of times informally and knew several of her professional prodigy who have also given much to our industry.  One of my recollections is her chairing an inter-active session, I think at PREA, some years ago.  The topic was something about the role of real estate in an institutional investment portfolio and I believe it was the last session of the last day.  The presentation was disappointingly flat, and I knew at the time it was because almost no one in the room knew enough about the other asset classes to contribute meaningfully to the topic.  She was always just so far ahead of the rest of us."  Jon Willis, Principal, Global Property Strategies

• "As a former client and ULI colleague of hers you paid a touching tribute. Shared it with a friend, Joanna Stimson, who was her fourth hire at PPR and she too thought it was quite fitting."  Ken Munkacy, Senior Managing Director-International Group, GID Investment Advisers

• "When Tom Klugherz and I were at GE Capital Investment Advisors in the mid-1990s, the firm hired PPR (they had to have been brand-new) as a research consultant. We would hold big market-review discussions with Susan, Steve Coyle, Bret Wilkerson, Josh Scoville and a few others. One of the fellows would go into great detail on a given metro, delving into employment stats, absorption and whatnot. He’d wrap up just when we were getting close to information overload. Then Susan, who had been standing by silently, would say, “We think San Jose is a yummy market.” And that was that! Doug Holm

• "I almost fainted when I read your blog; it is so hard to believe that we will never hear another one of her well thought out, timed, and pointed statements about issues in the real estate investment world.  I always admired Susan and wished I could have known her better.  As one of the leading voices in the institutional investment industry representing our “asset class”, she helped push real estate into its legitimate role as a significant part of a well diversified portfolio.  As a fellow CFA, I was thrilled with her work to add real estate to the list of topics that are studied in the CFA curriculum.  Unfortunately, there seems to have been no voice to replace hers. She was an icon." 
  Leanne Tobias, Managing Principal, Malachite LLC

• "I was deeply touched by your superb piece on my wife Susan, as well as by the wonderful comments from people I knew well personally or by constant reference in conversation with Susan. I appreciate the humor and candor and attention to detail, as would Susan herself! She is missed horribly, but always present." John Wilson, Susan's Husband
  
  
• " A wonderful lady who also served as a sterling example for women in the industry.  So very sad."  Lynn Cherney, Global Real Estate Practice Leader, Spencer Stuart

• " To say that she was a mentor would be an understatement not to mention what she did for women, our industry and everyone she touched. And always with a sense of dignity and humor."  Mary Hull, Managing Principal, Westbrook Partners 

• "We have lost a great person. I met her first when she was at AEW – early 90s I think – and remained a huge fan ever since. She certainly inspired me through my career. Jeannette Rice, Rice Consulting Inc

• "Wonderful tribute.  She will be “wicked” missed."  Nori Gerardo-Leitz, President, Areté Capital

• "Steve –  I never had the opportunity to personally meet Susan, but know her contributions to our industry are immeasurable.  I feel like I know her much better after reading your fantastic tribute!" Grant Walker, Teacher Retirement System of Texas

• "She was the one that reminded us that when talking about public, private, debt and equity the term "4 quadrants" was redundant!" Catherine Schuster, Head of Communications and Client Services, Real Estate, UBS Global Asset Management. 

• "Dear Steve, I hope that this e-mail finds its way to you. I read your tribute to my sister-in-law this morning and wanted to thank you for such a beautifully written item. Susan married my brother more than 40 years ago. She has been my best friend, source of inspiration and greatest cheerleader for all those years. I can't thank you enough for sharing your thoughts and feelings." Amy Wilson Demers
  

• "Nice column. I was at PPR after she sold the company to DMGI, but she never really left." Jeff Havsy, Director of Research, NCREIF

• "In the  early 90's I was head of research at the Property Council of Australia (NAREIT, NCREIF, NAREIM, BOMA all under one roof). I instigated a series of seminars where we brought the best real estate research minds to Australia - Michael Giliberto, Jacques Gordon, Blake Eagle, Charles Wurtzebach, Will McIntosh to name a few. And of course Susan. Susan returned a few times. I remember clearly her first presentation on four quadrant investing which really challenged the way Australians could look at real estate investing. Susan's research was well circulated in Australia as unfortunately we didn't, and still don't have a strong research community and very few people were writing and challenging our thinking the way Susan did. You describe her to a tee in your email but I would add her legacy goes well beyond just the US real estate industry." 
  Adrian Harrington, Head of Funds Management, Folkestone Limited
  
  
  The Original Column:
  On the Road with Steve Felix
  October 12, 2012
  
  
  Susan Hudson-Wilson
  
  
  The news about the death of Susan Hudson-Wilson (aka Susan H-W) this week was shocking in it's abruptness. Last Friday, she died from a severe cerebral aneurysm.  The medical team who investigated her death said that this could have occurred at any time or place and only coincidentally happened at the end of a joyous and successful safari in Africa. 
  
  Many of you know Susan.  Many more of you have heard of her.  Still more have been the beneficiaries of the output of her research and strategy work. 
  
  
  She was generous with her time and helped younger people grow.  When you were being considered for employment at PPR it was more of an audition for a Broadway show than an interview as everyone, no matter what job they were applying for, had to make a presentation in front of the whole team. Theme picked by the candidate – you present on a subject you know, you have command of, therefore are more comfortable with.  That way you’re not making stuff up and they got a better view of how you think on your feet.  Plus – the whole process helped those already on the team learn and hone their question asking skills – a “two-fer” as I learned Susan would call it. 
  Susan and I knew each other for a good number of years.  She was a regular reader of this column.  Probably six or seven years ago now, I went to the rooftop gym of a hotel in, gee I wish I could remember, some European city where we were both attending an industry event.  She was on the rowing machine and I walked in.  We said hello and she said, "Enough with the music stuff in OTR.  Get back to real estate!"  Of course, she was right and I listened.  She was like that.  She took an interest and had a passion for everything she did. 
  Life is just too mysterious to try to figure things out.  We don't know why someone so vital, so alive,  dies so young.  Even if there's a medical reason it doesn't stop us from asking, "Why her or him."  There is no rhyme or reason to so many things in life.  Why, why, why.  The answer is:  we have no friggin' clue.  
  Susan H-W gave a lot to the industry. She gave of herself, tirelessly, generously, caringly.  Not everyone does.  That's what makes her special in my mind and she took a lot of time to do things she was passionate about.  
  Another memory I have of Susan is sitting at a table during the cocktail time at an AFIRE meeting with Susan, John Streiker of Sentinel and Ted Leary of Crosswater.  If you think I got a word in edgewise, you are sadly mistaken!  We talked a lot.  We had a couple of glasses of wine. We laughed a lot.  We debated.   I don't know how much actual listening was going on but it was a scene that I've always remembered fondly and will cherish even more now.  
  
  
  Remembrances from others about Susan H-W:
  
  
• "She told us off on a regular basis and made us pay for it."  A former client.

• "I'm still stunned.  Susan had a huge impact on moving our industry forward at a critical time in it's evolution.  She leaves a big gap in the real estate research ranks."  Wylie Greig, former Head of Global Real Estate Research, RREEF

• "Susan was one of our best speakers and moderators.  She spearheaded many Trustee panels and many segments at Spring and Fall meetings.  She asked the tough questions and challenged us all to think deeper and smarter."  ULI Obituary

• "I will miss Susan. She was always a lot of fun to be around.  Having co-authored four articles with her, I can tell you that SHW (her track-changes initials) was absolutely never shy about offering up a provocative thought, a catchy phrase or a creative approach to data analysis.  Funny how our industry can feel like a "family" at times like this!"  Jacques Gordon, Global Investment Strategist, LaSalle Investment Management

• "Susan was an incredible thought leader for this industry who will be sadly missed by so many of us.  I am struggling to get my mind to accept this bright, inspiring, energetic woman, who has always made me think harder about my views on every subject, is no longer with us."  Lynn Thurber, Chairman, LaSalle Investment Management.

• "She touched so many people, each one in a very personal way.  Always looking to elicit something more thoughtful, more effective, ultimately to induce a better outcome.  We are fortunate to have had her in our lives and our careers.” Bret Wilkerson, Managing Director, Hawkeye Partners and former CEO of PPR.

• "I still have one of the “Free the Damn Data” buttons she had made up and handed out at a NCREIF meeting back in the “old days” which was certainly one of the catalysts to us now having a lot more disaggregated data for research on the real estate asset class.  And as one of the founders of RERI she helped make sure the data flowed to academics who could use it to help us better understand the asset class.  She was one of the first “Road Warriors” that helped pave the way for real estate to be included in institutional real estate portfolios.  And she continued her contributions to the asset class with her work on the REIS board.   We certainly all benefited from having Susan as a advocate for the real estate asset class even if it meant being scolded by her from time to time!  I will be the first to toast her at PREA or wherever we all find ourselves having a drink." Jeff Fisher, President of The Homer Hoyt Institute.

• "We will miss her brilliant mind, her unwavering resolve and her "wicked" sense of humor." Claudia Faust, Co-Founder / Managing Partner, Hawkeye Partners

• "I am beyond devastated about Susan.  She not only was a great mentor to me, she was a life force that no one in her grip could quite escape (and I say that with all respect). Susan was an iconoclast.  She had her moral sensibilities and her sense of code, but it never wavered and one never had to guess on what side of it they stood.  Susan was black and white.  For this, and for so much else, I adored her.  My only regret is that she never fully forgave me for leaving her/PPR.  In reality, I never left Susan (I never will). I only decided to take another job (which Susan had prepared and prepped me for in spades), because it was the next step in the evolution of my career.  I will remain forever indebted to Susan and all that she did for me.  I will miss her until my days on this earth are through.  My parting thoughts are....Susan, may you fly with the angels.  As Frank Sinatra sand (lyric by Paul Anka), you did it "your way."  I love and miss you."  Steve Coyle, Chief Investment Officer, Cohen & Steers Global Private Real Estate Multimanager Strategy

Surely, Susan is now challenging the status quo in the great beyond.  We need her to do that for us.  Speaking on behalf of myself and those readers of OTR who know Susan, our sincerest condolences to Susan's family.  It seems so little to say but maybe, out of this, we can take away another reminder that life is short and we just don't know what tomorrow will bring.

At the upcoming PREA event you know there will be Susan H-W stories exchanged, glasses clinked in toasts and teary eyes (nice timing Susan, deciding to take this trip just before PREA!). 

As Jacques said, we are a family. We are a high stakes industry, dealing in trillions of dollars of real estate investments but when you come down to it, we are simply a group of people, working to make a living, doing something we love and enjoying and respecting the people we do it with.  In that way, we are among the luckiest people in the world.  

I can't know for sure what Susan would write me after she read this column today but I have a feeling:  she would say, "I liked it. You focused on the industry."  And, for this column, in dedication to Susan, I deleted all the other OTR stuff that I had written to publish today.  It can surely wait for another day.  But what can't wait is for us to remember Susan.  To talk about her.  To heal ourselves.  To hug each other.  To let ourselves feel.  To appreciate what she meant to the industry as a whole and to those of us fortunate enough to know her personally.  And then, we will move forward, hopefully, really and truly remembering how precious each day we have on earth is; not taking anything or anybody for granted; being kind to each other; laughing; enjoying life; taking chances and loving ourselves and each other.

As I wrote in my song (listen free here), "Live Your Life" (Note:  The brilliant and emotional guitar work is by my friend, Ernie Hendrickson)

They say it's long but it's really short and you say you don't have time

You can spend your days, dreaming of the way to live it

But you say that you've got things to do before your time will come

You're the only one who can really make a difference.

You just make that call, keep your eye on the ball, and don't let anyone say no

You just live your life, love your life and when go you go you'll never have regrets

Live your live, love your life, don't think twice do it right

Live your life, love your life, don't think twice it's all right!Okay Susan, I threw something about music in. I couldn't help myself.  This one is for you!

Susan Hudson-Wilson