Name: Kirsty Wilman
Job title: COO – real estate, Federated Hermes
What I do: It is a broad role which covers all the things that we need to function effectively as a real estate investment team including supporting and driving our business growth and ESG integration for our client portfolios, and I sit on the real estate investment committee. I am also a non-executive director for Real Estate Balance which supports and drives increased diversity in the real estate industry.
Why I got into the property industry: Largely by accident, I am an accountant and worked in audit for eight years at two different firms, which included the audit of real estate companies. I then moved to Federated Hermes as financial controller in the real estate finance team and have been here since with a few different roles. I have stayed in the property industry because I enjoy the variety, the transactional and tangible nature of the industry, and the massive impact that real estate has on all of us.
My inspiration(s): I have been lucky enough to work for some wonderful women in particular who have been huge inspirations in how they have both managed their own progression and encouraged and sponsored mine. They have helped me to see what I might be able to achieve and supported me in doing it. I am often inspired by people around me in lots of different ways but mainly people who manage impressive and challenging careers alongside being a present and patient parent (my goal in life!) and those who have passion and enthusiasm for projects they are involved in. I think we all want to be surrounded by positive people.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: I think every time I have been promoted it has allowed me a moment to stop and reflect on what I have achieved. I think most of us are too modest, or maybe just too busy, to spend time thinking about the good things that we have done. I am immensely proud to have achieved what I have in my career overall. I also consider my appointment to Real Estate Balance as a significant achievement. I am sitting alongside some of the most impressive people in the industry who broke the glass ceilings and who are working hard to change the industry; it’s a privilege to be part of it and great to be able to contribute to.
My biggest screw-up: I can’t face reliving it in print… but the key thing I learned was that we all mess up and the thing that differentiates is the way we deal with it. I have always been honest about my mistakes and done my best to sort them out as quickly as possible.
My biggest bugbear about the industry: I would love the industry to be quicker to embrace change, in two areas in particular – technology and diversity.
When I became interested in ESG: When I joined Federated Hermes. It is totally ingrained in our business and how we approach everything that we do. I now have the ESG team reporting to me and I find it such an amazing and interesting industry full of inspirational people who are so passionate. It is the fastest moving industry I have been involved in and there are great examples of how much we can achieve and how quickly we can adapt. Real estate impacts its environment, the people who use it and the communities surrounding it so it is important that we make sure that the impact is as positive as it can be.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: I have been lucky enough to work for some exceptional women who have supported me and encouraged me in my career and through personal experience I can see how much that has shaped my career. That personal experience has led to more involvement in DE&I, but over the last few years I have learned so much about the importance of diversity for businesses and what we need to do to achieve it.
What I do in my downtime: I have three children, aged 11, seven and four which means I can’t remember what downtime is! I try to fit in pilates every week and love a nice dinner with friends. The struggle to find balance in life is constant!
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: When I chose my career I didn’t really know the full spectrum of jobs that you could do especially in an industry like Real Estate and had I known then what I know now I would probably have been more interested in an investment role. However, my job is very broad and unpredictable and I really enjoy that aspect.
My advice for someone just starting out: Don’t second guess yourself. If you want to try something and it looks tough, or seems difficult then it’s probably really worth doing, and don’t second guess your ability to do hard things. I wish I had taken more chances at an earlier stage and some of those things might not have worked out well but you still learn from them. On a more specific note, I massively advocate for anyone who is starting a family or having a planned absence from work to not let that define your career. Parental leave is short in the grand scheme of your career, even if you are planning it, it doesn’t mean you shouldn’t get involved in a project, take on more responsibility, or go for that promotion.
My motto/mantra: Always try your best, always be honest and accept that you are only human.
