A letter from IREM President Renee Savage, CPM®, CCIM

Renee Savage, CPM^®, CCIM

Welcome to JPM, the new year, and this exciting chapter of my leadership journey in real estate management. That’s this issue’s theme—leadership. It’s one of IREM’s core values, and for me, it’s almost too fitting a topic as I step into my new role as the 2023 IREM President.

One of the joys of our profession is how we’re always learning something new, often in the course of coming up with a solution to a never-before-seen issue! In our feature, you can read a bit more about all the unexpected twists and turns of my own journey in real estate and what I’m looking forward to most during my tenure as IREM President.

For real estate managers today, successful leadership means so much more than meeting financial goals and objectives alone. With the emphasis on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) initiatives only growing, it’s now critical to recognize how success in creating meaningful social value will remain a key measure of our overall management performance. Read the feature on community engagement to see how property management companies and the IREM Indianapolis Chapter lead by example and put their values into action.

Effective leadership moving forward will also require looking inward and identifying growth areas—for ourselves and our organizations. Where can we impact change? How else can I make a difference? Sometimes it can be as simple as making introductions for a new member attending their first IREM event. Or it can be a strategic business decision, like investing in professional development for your staff. You can read more about understanding your organization’s existing core values and how to further develop them in our DEI column exploring values-based leadership.

After conducting the event virtually for the last two years, we couldn’t be more excited to be heading back to Washington, D.C., for our annual IREM Advocacy Impact Day (AID) on March 28–29. Read more about what you can expect at this year’s event and how your participation will help US legislators understand the vital issues affecting the property management profession.

In our Property Spotlight, we bring the focus to the self-storage sector, where years of surging demand have driven the need for skilled property managers who can meet the challenge of operating this niche property type. And with headwinds in the forecast across asset classes, proactive owners may look to engage outside management firms to succeed in this highly competitive market.

IREM is constantly growing our global presence to help drive our mission of advancing the profession of real estate management. In Global Practices, we take a look at real estate management in Romania. Long-standing attitudes toward post-Soviet self-management pose particular challenges for professional property management taking root in the country, but a CPM and a REALTOR® in Bucharest offer compelling views on what’s ahead.

To ensure that IREM’s rich legacy of volunteer leadership remains relevant today and into the future, the 2020 Governing Council created the Volunteer Leadership Task Force (VLTF) and voted on several updates to our governance structure and protocols, which are now in effect. You can see details of these updates to IREM’s governance structure and how the changes will help ensure the Institute’s long-term well-being.

I’m beyond thrilled for this opportunity to act as IREM President. On behalf of myself and the entire 2023 IREM leadership team, we’re honored to be serving you this year.