Name: Grace Oyebunmi Oyesoro
Title: Head of operations at Quintain Living and chair of Culture Club (ethnicity and race network) at Quintain
What I do: I’m responsible for the operation of all of the 3,651 Quintain Living homes, across the 10 distinct build to rent developments at Wembley Park and oversee the team responsible for customer service, retention, and financial performance.
How I got into the built environment industry: Completely by accident. As a recent graduate, I started an entry level admin role at a commercial real estate management firm. I was only supposed to be there for a ‘couple of months’ while I decided what I wanted to do with my life. I climbed the ranks and loved it so much that 10 years later, I’m still here!
My first project: Managing Wembley Point – a 165,000 sq ft commercial office building awaiting conversion to residential. It was a fine balance of attracting new commercial tenants in the short term and keeping the asset running while simultaneously preparing for its eventual closure. It took spinning plates to a whole new level! Given that I was fairly early on in my career, it was a baptism by fire, but I learnt so much and wouldn’t go back to change a thing.
My inspiration: I couldn’t name just one person, but I’m inspired by anyone who has successfully challenged the status quo, occupied spaces they traditionally aren’t ‘supposed’ to be in and left things/people’s lives better than they found them.
My main career goals right now: Continuing to learn as much as I can, as well as sharing my knowledge. Being the embodiment of operational excellence and inspiring others towards this. Finding and empowering others to find simple solutions to complex problems. There is a tendency for us to over-complicate processes and systems to the point where they don’t serve the people who need/use them very well – I’d love to combat this, one operation at a time! The beauty of this industry is that there are many ways for me to be able to so. Championing diversity within the industry – there is a lot of change that needs to be made for the industry to be truly inclusive. This is important because we need to attract diverse talent that reflects the communities we serve. I’d love for myself and other minorities to see people who look like we do when we walk into a room. Continually seeing boards that aren’t diverse is exhausting.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: Professionally: managing an operation through Covid (especially in the early days) – the landscape changed almost overnight, and keeping the team going and continuing to serve our residents in the face of uncertainty and an ever-changing situation was tough. Personally: a culmination of bereavement and other issues meant that I didn’t get my required grades at school and had my graduate job offer retracted. As an over-planner ticking off steps of a very rigid five-year plan, it felt like the absolute end of the world. However, it turned out to be the best thing that could have happened as it forced me to learn how to pivot when things don’t go to plan and I wouldn’t have stumbled into this uniquely wonderful industry otherwise.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: A hybrid of a fashion designer/surgeon/investment banker – my varying career aspirations from the age of six until about 18.
What I do in my downtime: Travelling, eating and solo cinema trips. I’m also currently obsessed with completing The New York Times mini crossword as quickly as possible (personal best: 34 seconds).
My advice for someone just starting out: Be open-minded, build your network, ask lots of questions and never be afraid of making mistakes (as long as you learn from them!)
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Coretta Scott King, Sir David Attenborough, Emma Grede, Tracee Ellis Ross, Michael Schur (writer of my TV favourites like The Office US/Parks and Recreation), Beyonce and Luther Vandross – the perfect mix of knowledge and entertainment.
What I would like to change about the industry: Ethnic and socioeconomic diversity – at all levels, but especially at senior level where it is most lacking. We need diversity of voices, perspective, and approaches in the rooms where decisions are being made. In a lot of cases, the vague statements and diversity pledges made circa three years ago have been pushed aside with little or no actual action taken. Given that a lack of diversity and inclusion has a proven impact on productivity, innovation, employee churn and the bottom line, it’s an essential requirement for the industry to be truly world class.
My motto/mantra: Done is better than perfect. Of course, things should be done to the best of our ability and the highest possible quality, but the extra time spent trying to attain ‘perfection’ (which doesn’t exist) could be used executing, making progress and tweaking, instead.
