Saturday, January 25, 2014

People make plans and god laughs




People make plans and god laughs

For the first time in more than 30 years, Mother Nature prevented me from attending an industry event.  Due to the snow and cancelled flights, I missed the IMN conference in Laguna Beach this week as well as an excellent opportunity to moderate an emerging manager panel. I would enjoy hearing conference highlights from those who attended.

Generally I try to go with the flow, although in this case I was really disappointed when plans had to change. But then I started thinking, maybe there’s a bigger reason that I was not supposed to attend the event, even though it’s not exactly clear yet what that reason is...  My partner and I did get to work with an existing client face-to-face in NYC instead of via conference call and we also picked up a new client. Might these have happened anyway? Maybe. Maybe not!

This experience got me thinking about a saying used by the late-grandmother of a friend, ‘People make plans and god laughs’ (and perhaps Mother Nature chuckles as well)!  Could their laughter relate to knowing something good is about to come out of the unexpected change in plans??

This all reminds me of something I have shared with you before – a passage I regularly read from the book, 'The Tao of Pooh"-

'Things just happen in the right way, at the right time. At least they do when you let them, when you work with circumstances instead of saying, "This isn't supposed to be happening this way," and trying to make it happen some other way. If you're in tune with The Way Things Work, then they work the way they need to, no matter what you may think about it at the time. Later on, you can look back and say, "Oh, now I understand. That had to happen so that those could happen and those had to happen for this to happen...Then you realize that even if you'd tried to make it all turn out perfectly, you couldn't have done better, and if you really tried, you would have made a mess of the whole thing.'  

I continuously refer back to this passage – it helps to put things in perspective for me.  Perhaps you’ll find it helpful as well.  


Congratulations…

Scott Arden joined Hodes Weill & Associates

John Rivard joined Rockefeller Group Investment Management

On The Road...

Mar. 11 - 14: MIPIM, Cannes, France

Mar. 19 - 20:  PREA Spring Conference, Boston, MA

Apr. 29 - 30:  PERE Global Investor, Los Angeles, CA

May 16:  Annual meeting of The Hoyt Fellows, North Palm Beach, FL



Happy Birthday to my brother Jay!!








Disclaimer 
All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 

Sunday, January 19, 2014

In Memoriam: Anne Pfeiffer / Sam Grad


This week I'm sharing sad news.  The real estate industry lost one seasoned veteran and one aspiring leader.  My heart goes out to the family and friends of both Anne Pfeiffer and Sam Grad.


Anne Pfeiffer

Anne Pfeiffer died this week.
Until her retirement in 2013 Anne was a managing director at JPMorgan Chase.

I got to know Anne from attending many JPMorgan Real Assets annual investor conferences.  She was a consummate professional with a wonderful smile and enthusiastic energy about her.

Excerpts from a published obituary:
“A member of JPMorgan’s real-estate financing unit for almost 35 years, Pfeiffer managed a seven-person portfolio-management team as head of the New York-based bank’s commingled property funds, which are pension trusts catering to retirement and governmental plans.
“Anne was a friend and mentor to so many people she worked with at the firm,” her husband Paul said, summarizing the e-mails he had received since her death. “She was dearly loved and revered among her co-workers.”
My condolences go out to her family, friends and colleagues.  Our industry has lost another role model.  Through her work in mentoring young professionals, Anne’s legacy will continue.
Anne was 61.

Anne Pfeiffer

Sam Grad

Sam Grad passed away this week.
Sam was the son of Debra and Bryan Grad.  Bryan is Senior Vice President of Sales for Real Capital Analytics (RCA). 

From a published obituary:  “Sam was a 2009 graduate of Westford Academy and a 2013 graduate of the University of Connecticut where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Real Estate and Urban Economic Studies. Sam was a gifted athlete who enjoyed playing sports and loved competition of all kinds. He holds the record for the fastest time in the 100-meter sprint at Westford Academy. He loved Cape Cod, and especially Nauset Beach. Sam was both a camper and a camp counselor. He was respected and loved as a leader and a role model. Sam was widely known for his overwhelmingly positive outlook, constant smile, and living every day to the fullest.”

I had the privilege of knowing Sam personally and witnessed his smile and energy.   He was a fine young man.   Sam was passionate about the commercial real estate industry and was pursing job opportunities just before he got sick. He fought the battle but lost to Lymphoma.
Being the father of two sons, it is unfathomable for me to imagine this happening – I’m sure it’s the same for all parents.

My deepest condolences go out to Sam’s family and friends.

Sam was 23.
Sam Grad


On The Road...

Jan. 22 - 24, 2014:  IMN (Information Management Network) Winter Forum on Opportunity and Private Fund Investing, Laguna Beach, CA

Mar. 11 - 14: MIPIM, Cannes, France

May 16:  Annual meeting of The Hoyt Fellows, North Palm Beach, FL





Disclaimer 
All content in this blog is created for informational purposes only. Content, which includes all text, photos, video and graphics is not intended to malign any religion, ethnic group, club, organization, company or individual.  Steve Felix makes no representations as to the accuracy or completeness of any information on this site or other information as a result of following any featured link to or from this site.  The intention of this blog is to do no harm in regards to injury, defamation or libel. What is written or shown is not to be taken as fact or absolute.  Steve Felix will hold himself harmless for any errors or omissions in this blog’s information; including but not limited to external link information, translation or interpretation of content or incorrect grammar or punctuation. 


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