Brian narration: This is Built, a podcast series where you’ll meet the people behind some of the biggest transactions and investments in commercial real estate, and hear how they got to where they are today.

I’m your host Brian Maughan, chief marketing officer with Fidelity National Financial.

And those of us in this business, well we know the buildings...but how many of us know the stories of the people behind those structures?

In this first episode of our new season, we’re talking to Tiffany English. Tiffany is senior director of architecture for Qualcomm, a multinational maker of wireless technology.

Before she started her current role she spent two decades at architecture and design firms. But architecture wasn’t something she had planned to go into. She majored in photography, after a childhood spent all over the world.

As the first architect I’ve talked to for this series, I was eager to learn more about Tiffany’s built world.

Brian Maughan: I'd like to start maybe by, if you wouldn't mind sharing with us a little bit about what you're doing right now. What does the senior director of architecture at  a large wireless innovator do? How did that come about and what does your day to day look like?

Tiffany English: Well, working for a global technology company, really, they require obviously a lot of real estate, not only for the staff, but for our labs and our manufacturing and a lot of other work that we do, our R&D facilities. So being the senior director of architecture, I work in our real estate and facilities team. I oversee our space planning, interior design, architecture, engineering and lab planning teams. So we work together to basically help the end users and our clients, which are internal clients, really make sure that they have the facilities they need to get their work done. So we work with them on a regular basis to understand what their requirements are and then to help facilitate whether it's a new build, ground up, tenant improvement, renovation. Part of my team also works on moves. We have almost 50,000 employees and we have just close to 13 million square feet of real estate, both owned and leased.

Brian Maughan: Tiffany, is architecture art or science?

Tiffany English: It's both. And, you know, Leonardo da Vinci was a perfect example of that, right? He was an artist and a scientist. I've taken, you know, plenty of personality tests. And it's funny because when I take those tests, I always cross over between being an artist and somebody who loves data. So architecture and design is really a total immersion of both. So it's a puzzle continuously that you're always trying to put together. So you have to be able to be very creative in the way that you think and you respond to, you know, problem solving. So I often say that there's a lot of people out there who think, design, you know, I’m just looking to put a pretty picture in a magazine. But the most successful design is really one that, you know, can take the form and the function and create something, you know, that's both beautiful and usable.

Brian Maughan: Is it a lot different for you kind of coming into the corporate world as opposed to the design side, being at a firm there in San Diego?

Tiffany English: Yeah. You know, I was at my previous firm for close to 20 years. And you know, before that, I'd been with other architecture and interior design firms. So I think that just prepared me for this job. So now my role is much more strategic. You know, I have a very solid team and we get to still work with design firms, including my previous firm. Now, I get to work with lots of different design firms, which is nice. So I bring a little bit more knowledge to understanding how they work and how they can support what we do. So the relationships I’ve built over the last 25 years has [sic] been really critical to me being successful in the job I have now. But the day to day is definitely different. And I feel that I'm more challenged now and I get to actually be learning new things. So now I really look at more of understanding the real estate lease transactions that are occurring… different aspects of the real estate in the facilities that I wasn't as exposed to in my previous job.

Brian Maughan: Oh, that's fantastic. We're at a very interesting kind of crossroads, if you think about it from a commercial real estate perspective, we've exited this incredibly disruptive pandemic and we're, you know, we're still in it to a degree, and probably will all be in it for a while. But we had this exodus kind of to a remote work environment. We have left this past of kind of more functional real estate…I'm curious from your perspective, what is exciting about commercial design right now?

Tiffany English: Well, right now is such a pivotal moment in just in workplace design and strategies in real estate, because we're going through such a major change. And, you know, mobile work environments and remote workers is not totally new, right? There are a lot of companies that were doing this ten, fifteen years ago. So I think what it comes down to is workplace will never be the same. So it's never going to go back because now everybody's had a taste of it. People know they can still be productive. Companies know that their teams can still be productive. But the biggest challenge is how do you still create a strong culture within a company and corporate culture that keeps people connected? Because no matter how you break it down, in how much everybody prefers to work from home or be remote, skip their commute, be able to work in their sweats. What still needs to happen is that we're human and we still need to connect. How are we going to still maintain that?

Brian narration: Tiffany says no one knows the exact answer yet. We're still waiting on the data. As she said earlier she’s a mix of data and design herself…but did she see herself on the commercial side of the business? 

Tiffany English: No. And somebody actually asked me that the other day, they're like, Did you choose commercial real estate? And I said, No, I fell into it. You know, I think a lot of people do. You know, when I was in college, I was just saying earlier that I actually started out as a photography major with a minor in journalism. So I've always been, I've always pursued the arts in some fashion. And, you know, I started out in that realm and then just slowly was exposed to design and architecture and then chose the path towards architecture. And every step of the way, I was always looking for opportunity to learn, and I think anything that inspired me or I felt like I learned something from, I would just continue down that path. So I think, you know, having goals, I always knew that I wanted to continue to work on architectural projects and office space and corporate facilities. I tried to learn about every company we were working with and what they were producing, and I was very interested in the process of how they worked. And when you start to understand your clients and what they do. It only, I think, makes you a better designer. 

Brian narration: Take her first job back in the 90s. She was with a firm in Oakland, and they were working on the arena for the Golden State Warriors. Tiffany says the Warriors were not doing well at the time. Still, she was star struck. And she took her job very seriously.

Tiffany English: I was assigned to actually locate all of the exterior benches, ashtrays and trash cans. Yes, and they did have ashtrays back then I had to help select them, go through the detailing of mounting them, and um, who knew you had to have concrete attachment details for exterior benches so people didn’t try to steal them or the ashtrays? You know, so little things that I still remember to this day. And it’s so silly now but for me it was such a great experience, and my husband still loves to make fun of me about that because you know, I’ll remind him, when we’re in Oakland if we drive by… ‘yeah, look that ashtray and that trash can, yeah, I picked that color too, that blue, I picked that custom blue.’ Those are the things that you remember right, through the course of your career that you remember, and that’s one of the things I’ll never forget.

Brian Maughan: How has design changed over the years in the sense that whether it be the materials that you use, the things that people didn't used to think about…

Tiffany English: Well, I think design’s evolved in unison with how people work, right and workplace, right? So I think if you look back in the 50s and 60s, it was about the function, right? You know what kind of productivity you were getting out of the team, and people really separated their work and life quite a bit. So you went to work, you left work. So over time, and I think the evolution of workplace has turned to being less about the functionality of the job and the task at hand, but more about being occupant focused, right? And this is not just in corporate office, this is in health care, in retail. It's about the customer experience, the client experience, the patient experience, the employee experience. And that's because we know that when people are happy, they are more productive, right? And I think that's… there's plenty of statistics to support that. And we know that 85 percent of our time has been spent in the office, right? And that's where you develop a lot of your relationships. So how do you create an environment that provides an experience where people want to be there?

Brian narration: She says it’s all about creating an environment for the group that an individual of any background will also love.

Tiffany English: I'm gonna just kind of touch on the HR side of it, right? So, you know HR teams are much more focused on diversity of teams and trying to have blind processes and really looking at the qualifications of people that they're bringing on to teams.

So with that, you have to have inclusive environments that embrace all different perspectives, and the diversity and equity of that is only going to create innovation, so to me, this is such an exciting time. And I know it sounds weird to say that during the middle of a pandemic, but in reality, this is an opportunity when you look at it. This is an opportunity for evolution and change in the design world and how we work and, you know, the type of spaces that we design. And if you talk to other designers who are like me, most of them are very excited to see where we're going, right?

Brian Maughan: I mean I think it's maybe a great segway into a little bit about your past because I think your past has given you some unique perspective on the idea of different cultures, different environments, melding those together. I've heard it said that you describe yourself as a third culture kid. What does that mean and why?

Tiffany English: I do [laughs]. Well, there are quite a few of us third culture kids. So you know, it means that, you know, I'm an American citizen. But I was born and raised overseas in multiple different countries and cultures and environments. And so as much as I identified as being an American, I actually never lived in the states till I came to college. So y’know, I was born in Vietnam. I moved all over Africa from Mauritania, The Gambia, Swaziland. I lived in Swaziland in South Africa during apartheid. My parents, obviously, my mom is Chinese. My dad is Caucasian from Kansas. Their marriage was not allowed by law in South Africa. At the time, I thought, this is what everybody experienced, right? And then I lived in Japan, and then I went to high school in India. So I think my parents, luckily, were always really keen on making sure that we understood the cultures we lived in, that we were really immersed in those cultures, in those environments, and that we embraced everybody.

Brian narration: She says her dad is someone you could drop off anywhere in the world and he’d make friends instantly at a coffee shop. He always wanted to hear other people’s stories.

Tiffany English: He is one of those people who just instilled in my sisters and I that, you know, understanding people's stories and what they're about is how you make a connection and an authentic connection at that, and that, you know, everybody has a story. And that it's part of, I think, the part of me that's empathetic, right? And that's made me a good listener, right? And I think that's part of my success in architecture and design is being able to listen and key in on what it is that makes someone tick and you know, what it is that drives them and inspires them.

Brian narration: Those traits are a big part of what’s got her to where she is today. But Tiffany says Commercial Real Estate Women, or CREW, has been a big factor in her success as well. She is a past president of the network, and says she found out about it at just the right time in her life.

She was young, maybe 6 years into her career, married with two little kids. Her husband had a long commute to his job, so she ended up handling almost everything at home, on top of her own work.

She was frazzled…and ambitious and eager to be noticed…

Tiffany English: But I was also at that stage where I felt like as a woman in particular, that I often, I wanted to get things done on my own because I thought if I show that I did all on my own, they're going to be even more proud of me, right? Like, they’re gonna be like, Wow, she really can…she can really do it all. So there was a point where I literally just kind of threw my hands up in the air and thought, What am I doing? I can't do all of this. And there was actually a woman broker who was helping me look for a space for my office at the time. And she said, You really need to join CREW. There's a lot of other women there who are just like us. You know, they're juggling a lot of different things and they work to help each other. And I was like, ‘Help, you know, help.’ She's like, ‘Yeah, it's OK to ask for help.’ And so I really, I started going & attending some of the CREW events and I found these women were so welcoming and became such a resource.

Brian narration: She says the network made her feel uplifted, like everyone was rooting for her. If she was down, they’d pick her up. She says CREW is where she’s built the strongest, most loyal relationships in the industry - both men and women…

Tiffany English: Over five percent of our membership is men, which is quite a lot for a women's organization. But those men are allies, and a lot of them have wives, daughters, coworkers, and they want to be a part of making sure that women have an equitable, fair representation in our industry.

Brian narration: She says the network is also a leader on diversity, equity and inclusion…and always has been.

Tiffany English: So for me, obviously being a multicultural individual, it's a place that I feel welcome and included and I belong and it's a place where I do business and also have friendships. So if there's anything I always tell younger people too is find an organization that makes you feel that way, that you don't have that, ‘Oh, I don't want to go to that event tonight because it's just too much,’ right? You want to go someplace where you get excited and you know that you're going to be, you're going to get energy and be inspired by those around you.

Brian Maughan: You have been so generous with your time. Personally, I've loved getting to know you a lot better, getting to hear your stories firsthand. We certainly appreciate you being on Built and we appreciate the fact that you've helped the built world be a lot better designed.

Tiffany English: Thank you, I really appreciate it. Thanks so much for having me.

Brian narration: Thanks for tuning into season two of Built. We have more great stories coming up…we’ll be back with our next one in two weeks.

And if you missed the first season go check it out - our guests have been behind every type of structure from wind farms to warehouses. You can find all six episodes wherever you get your podcasts.

Built is a co-production of Fidelity National Financial and PRX Productions. From FNF, our project is run by Annie Bardelas. At PRX, our team is producer Ashley Milne-Tyte, Senior Producer Genevieve Sponsler, and associate producer Courtney Fleurantin. Audio mastering by Rebecca Seidel.

The Executive Producer of PRX Productions is Jocelyn Gonzales.

I’m Brian Maughan. 

Every story is unique, every property is individual, but we’re all part of this BUILT world.