IIJournals JPM-Special Real Estate Article Collection | Page 15

I will never forget when one of our clients asked Susan
to speak at their annual client meeting. Susan responded,
“You don’t want me, you want Stevie, he is way better
than I.” This was a blatant lie, but it was a kind lie. Susan
promoted her people whenever possible. On another occasion, the Wall Street Journal called her, and Susan passed the
call onto me. I will never forget her advice, “It’s time to
get famous, Stevie. Don’t screw it up.”
With Susan, there was only one speed, and that was
full speed. Susan knew few boundaries. When I began
looking at buying a new house, Susan and her husband
John showed up unsolicited to inspect the house and
tell me whether or not to buy it. At PPR, Susan was
our boss, den mother, and concerned (and judgmental)
mother. Susan lived by a code and was true to that code.
It was very much her own code, but she was always true
to it, and I am thankful to have been a part of her inner
circle for many years.
Susan was an amazing boss, a terrific mentor, and
a top-notch person. I loved her dearly. If I could have
a 15-minute conversation with anyone who has left my
life, I think that conversation might be with Susan. I miss
her so very often. Susan was one of a kind! The real estate
industry was lucky to have her. I was beyond lucky to
have had her as a boss and mentor. I miss you Susan!
—Steve Coyle
Susan was an independent thinker, and she had
no problem telling you exactly what she thought. I
loved that about her. No filter. I have to admit it was
painful at times. But I never felt I had to agree with
her. What Susan impressed upon all of us at Hawkeye
Partners, among other things, is that we need to have
the courage to do or say what we think is right, even if
it is different. Early in 2007, a few months after having
raised most of the capital for our first fund, an important
investment consultant came to see us. The consultant
was concerned we had not yet made any investments
and told us some of our investors were grumbling. Our
entire management team was in the room at the time,
including a few individuals who had just joined us. It
was a tense moment. I thought of Susan and the advice
she had given us. I told the consultant that we believed
the U.S. real estate market was in a bubble and explained
our reasoning for that belief. I said that while we would
continue to try to get something done if it made sense,
we judged it better to wait. That decision served us well.

26      R emembering Susan Hudson-Wilson

I miss Susan and think of her a lot. She was a wonderful
human being.
—Claudia Faust
I first met Susan in the early 1980s at NCREIF
meetings. It was clear from the start that she was a
pioneer in bringing a research discipline to the institutional real estate industry. She saw the importance
of applied research and wanted to associate with the
best researchers and encourage them to work on real
estate issues. I worked with her to start the Real Estate
Research Institute (RERI), which was initially created
by NCREIF but later became a separate entity. Susan
played a key role in the formation of RERI and the
policies that it still follows.
I also often witnessed Susa