Investing in Yourself and Breaking into Corporate Real Estate With Tom Donatelli

Welcome to Episode 3 of Real Estate Unplugged. Today I’m here with Tom Donatelli, a recently retired real estate professional with Teva Pharmaceuticals. With 37 years in the corporate world, and 12 of those years in corporate real estate, Tom shares his wisdom with us and explains how he broke into the field. Tom jumped into real estate by chance, after starting in global procurement.

Tom’s story is especially inspiring for those looking to get into the real estate field, even with diverse backgrounds in other industries and roles. Tom dove right into his role in real estate and felt he had an advantage due to his finance background. He shares that when his company was looking to downsize, Tom identified opportunities to donate or auction distressed assets to help reduce the cash burn on the books.

Tom also goes over what he looked for when interviewing new candidates and what skills he feels are important to possess. In addition, he shares mistakes he made and what he learned from them. This behind-the-scenes look into Tom’s real estate career offers invaluable key insight!

Let me know what you think about this episode and stay tuned for Episode 4!