Name: Pendrick Brown
Job title: Principal, managing director of London, HLW
What I do: A fascinating mixture of many things, from being principal in charge of projects, working with great teams and clients across EMEA, to helping manage and run the studio, as well as overseeing business development and marketing. Plus juggling my duties as husband and father to two teenage girls!
Why I got into the property industry: I accidentally followed my dad into the real estate world. Originally, I was hoping to be a professional cricket player, but I ended up working for a brewery for a stint before setting up a cricket equipment business with a few friends. Eventually the lure of working with my dad in the property sector proved too strong, particularly as I started to recognise how the built environment affects all of our daily lives – and I haven’t looked back since.
How I did it: I cut my teeth in the marketing and sales department of Vaux Breweries in Sunderland before moving down south to push my cricket equipment company. On the side, I was helping out at my dad’s project management firm. One went better than the other, and I made partner and evolved my role, before I realised I needed to understand much more of the property industry. I was fortunate to work with great MEP consultants and global architects over the following years which taught me how buildings live and breathe from the inside out.
My first proper job: Working at Vaux brewery was my first ‘proper’ job after uni, where I got paid in beer as well as a monthly wage. I worked through the summer breaks at the Kia Oval (or just The Oval, as it was back then) to help pay for university, and as a barman at The Rats Caste, Guildford’s finest establishment at the time.
My first big break: Being asked to become managing director for HLW EMEA this year feels like the biggest break to date. Bronte Turner is staying with us in London, but stepping into a global leadership role, which means I will still be working very closely with her.
My inspiration(s): My dad, my family in general and the amazing friends I have made both inside and outside of the industry.
The biggest challenge I’ve encountered to date: Possibly bringing my project management and business skills to the very creative, design focused company that is HLW. Balancing the commercial and the aesthetic, the practical and the inspirational, has also made it the most fun challenge to date too.
My greatest achievement/proudest moment to date: Helping my two daughters navigate the world as they develop and grow is my proudest ongoing achievement. Also, although it was a very long time ago now, my limited sporting achievements in cricket and rugby are also something I look back on with pride.
The biggest misconception people have about the property industry: I think, and hope, that the property industry is moving towards becoming a much more diverse sector. There is an awful lot more work to do, and I am keen to do what I can to support this necessary evolution.
My biggest bugbear about the industry/the one thing I would change about the industry: I still think we have a very long way to go to push our industry in terms of sustainability. We should always look to retain first and foremost, then re-use, and then recycle in that order. We have the brilliant, talented people to do it.
Why I’m so passionate about DE&I: Surely all individuals deserve to be considered, included and feel able to be themselves? We need environments where collaboration, diverse ideas and innovation can thrive without fear.
Why I’m so passionate about ESG: It is our duty, more than a passion. As part of the equity pillar at HLW I have learnt more in a short time than in all my decades previously. It is great to have such passionate people driving ESG not just at HLW but across the industry, all for the greater good.
Who I’d invite, living or dead, to a dinner party: Oscar Wilde, Ian Botham, Viv Richards, Martin Luther King, Nelson Mandela, Miriam Margolyes, Dorothy Parker, Robin Williams, Audrey Hepburn, Christopher Hutton and Taylor Swift – just to annoy my daughters who aren’t invited. I wouldn’t get a word in edgeways, but what a bunch to observe and listen to!
What I do in my downtime: Time with family and friends, walking the dog, weekly chats with my dad, some gaming, watching sports, enjoying whatever downtime I can eke out.
The job I’d be doing if I was not doing this: I would have loved to have been a sports journalist, having worked out my talent limited my prospects of becoming a professional cricketer!
My advice for someone just starting out: Ask the questions, socialise with your workmates, enjoy the hard yards and throw yourself into it – it is an incredibly rewarding and enjoyable sector to work in, with vast opportunities for talent to shine.
My motto/mantra: Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst… too cynical? Perhaps simply ‘don’t worry’ – as my dad told me, there is no point worrying over things you can’t control, and if you can control things then don’t worry, do something about it!
