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A Day in the Life: 24 Hours With Hughes Marino SVP David Callahan

David and his wife Erin are enjoying life with Charlie, their 9 month old girl.

Title: Senior Vice President

Hometown: Boston, MA
Hughes Marino Office: West Los Angeles
Fun Fact About David: As a not so young man, David once jumped a freight train from Roseville, CA to the Oregon border (Shhh!)

Originally from Boston, MA, David has adjusted quite well to the Southern California way of life. After graduating from Tufts University in Medford, MA, David later earned his MBA from USC. Over the past 12 years, he has served as a real estate advisor and consultant to countless businesses throughout the Los Angeles metropolitan area in industries including entertainment, media, technology, and healthcare. As a tenant representative, he helps clients determine the best type of space to assist in meeting their overall business objectives, while securing the best possible financial terms. David currently resides in Los Angeles and works from Hughes Marino’s West LA office.

It’s a fun and busy time in David’s life, as he and Erin, his wife of 12 years, welcomed their first child 9 months ago. With an infant at home, David’s busy work schedule is matched only by Erin’s busy career as co-executive producer of Jimmy Kimmel Live. Here’s a look at a typical day in the life of Hughes Marino SVP David Callahan.

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Baby Charlie on the set of Jimmy Kimmel Live.

5:00-5:30 am: David’s internal clock (or occasionally the baby) wakes him without the need for an alarm. He heads to the kitchen for coffee, which he typically brews the night before to support his iced coffee addiction.

His early morning hours are spent helping Erin with the baby if she is awake. Otherwise, he says he has a routine, which he follows just about every morning. He checks email, reads theSkimm’s daily e-mail newsletter, and browses his Twitter feed to keep current on what his clients feel is important enough to tweet about.

7:30 am-12:00 pm: David’s morning is spent completing a variety of tasks, all tied to currently engaged clients and prospective clients. “There are so many different variables that impact a company’s overall business operations. Real estate is just one of those variables, but it seems to creep into all facets of a company’s overall success,” David says.

He continues, “An office location can impact how a company is viewed by its investors, its competitors, and its current and future employees. With human capital typically being the highest expense on a company’s financial statements, it’s important that companies focus on worker productivity, employee recruitment, and retention. It’s this focus on workplace strategy that allows me to understand and advise our clients.”

David spends a considerable amount of time with his clients during the initial phase of engagement in order to determine their specific needs. “What is the company’s current headcount? Do they intend to grow? Are employees coming into the office on a daily basis or do they work from alternative locations such as home or the local Starbucks? Does management know if their employees are introverts or extroverts? Has anyone ever suggested that they consider this when designing their office space? We put a lot of effort into defining the requirements up front,” David says. Once the requirement is defined, the fun begins (if you call negotiating with some pretty tough landlords fun).

David works with both startup companies and established businesses. He enjoys the variety of challenges that come with each. Startups are exciting, as he says he loves to watch entrepreneurs’ vision come to life. He also takes pride in introducing landlords to his credit-worthy tenants that have the unique ability to increase the value of the property owners’ assets.

12:00 pm: Most days, David has scheduled lunches with other business leaders in the community to exchange thoughts about current trends that are occurring in their respective industries. He also makes it a point to keep in touch with existing clients so he can stay on top of changes that may be occurring in their businesses or the industries in which they operate. Other days, you’ll either find him eating at his desk or grabbing a quick workout at the gym across from the office.

1:00 pm-5:00 pm: David spends his afternoons working on projects and collaborating with his colleagues in Hughes Marino’s West Los Angeles office. “Our team in West LA is extremely collaborative and we are always bouncing ideas off one another. Everyone in the office adds value to our clientele whether they are client facing or not. It’s important that we are always communicating with one another, and we have a culture that very much supports this philosophy.”

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David and colleagues at a Hughes Marino team meeting.

David also spends quite a bit of time out of the office during the afternoon hours. He’s either touring spaces with clients or walking buildings on his own to get a feel for what tenants are experiencing on a real-time basis. Every few weeks he will also travel to Hughes Marino’s Orange County or San Diego offices for team meetings with his colleagues based in those markets. For the most part however, his afternoons are spent working on business development and communication with clients.

5:00 pm: It’s always a struggle, but David tries to leave the office between 5:00-5:30 pm each day, so he can get home by 6:00 or 7:00pm and spend time with Charlie while Erin is at work. However, as president of the Southern California Chapter of CoreNet Global, which includes roughly 350 members of one corporate real estate’s most influential and well respected trade associations, David often attends events in the evening. “I think it’s important to interact with other leaders in the industry in order to stay on top of trends and learn about best practices that others are implementing. I am a big believer in continuous learning and I want to make sure that I am aware of issues or practices that could both positively and negatively impact my existing clients and potential future clients.”

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David recently emceed the CoreNet Global REmmy awards honoring industry leaders from around the region.

In the later evening hours, David will often continue to check email, or do some volunteer work for his alma mater. An active member of the Steering Committee for the Tufts University Alumni Association, he especially enjoys fundraising for Tuft’s athletic department. “I learned so many valuable lessons about teamwork and balancing a demanding schedule while participating in college athletics, I want to do my part to ensure that others have the same opportunity.”

D&C-at-Beach-los-angeles
David and Charlie.

Weekend Life: With conflicting and consuming work schedules during the week, not to mention a new baby, David says that it is a very busy and fun time for both him and Erin. They are even starting to enjoy mini family trips on the weekends to various places throughout Southern California. “We’re still getting the hang of being parents and balancing everything, so we have started with small trips through the canyons to Malibu and up the coast to visit family and friends in Santa Barbara and Ojai.” David also loves to go mountain biking in the Santa Monica Mountains on weekends, finding it to be simultaneously invigorating and relaxing. During the winter, he often heads north to Mammoth or east to Big Bear to hit the slopes. He’s looking forward to a couple of family ski trips this winter.



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