An interview with Sadhvi Subramanian, SVP, Commercial Real Estate Regional Manager East, U.S. Bank.
In this episode of CREWcast, Wendy Mann interviews Sadhvi Subramanian, SVP, Commercial Real Estate Regional Manager East, U.S. Bank.
Narrator (00:01):
Welcome to CREW Cast, the CREW Network podcast that features top thought leaders in commercial real estate shares important industry insight and inspires change.
Wendy Mann (00:11):
Welcome to our CREW Cast business series, which profiles CREW Network partners, allies, and those who make a difference in commercial real estate. Today I am speaking with SVI Subramanian, senior Vice President of Commercial Real Estate at US Bank. Welcome svi.
Sadhvi Subramanian (00:28):
Thank you Wendy.
Wendy Mann (00:29):
Glad to have you here today. You and I talk regularly and we have a lot of great conversations and I thought let's just take this to the airways. So I know that you've been a long time member of CREW and very active with CREW DC over the years. Can you tell us a little bit about your career journey and how CREW was part of it?
Sadhvi Subramanian (00:51):
Yeah, absolutely. And before we start, Wendy, I wanted to just introduce where I am now and what I do. So Southeast Subramanian, I am the regional manager, senior vice president for the East region for commercial real estate for US Bank. US Bank today is the fifth largest bank in the country. We're headquartered in Minneapolis and we have about 33 offices in about 33 markets with the commercial real estate presence in most of these markets. The way we look at commercial real estate at US Bank, it's really divided into four regions. The Housing Capital Financing Team, which finances home builders, structured finance and the REIT teams. And my team provides Debt capital and CRE loans to institutional and local developers and we are relationship lenders, so we build long-term deep relationships with our clients and as you mentioned, Wendy, I've been a long time member of CREW.
(01:54):
In fact, I joined CREW DC in 2007 and it's interesting I didn't join out of my own strategic vision or something that I wanted to do, but really was prodded by Wendy White who has been a mentor of mine for a long time and she kind of took me under her wing and pushed me to join CREW dc I was lucky, I had a very supportive manager and he supported the time commitment and my active industry participation. After joining, I started by attending events and then at one of the events was approached by someone to join the member services committee. I think I really started getting the benefit of the CREW Network by becoming active in a committee. I don't think I was getting that kind of knowledge and Networking skills from just attending programs. Once I got involved, I went on to lead the committee and then got on the CREW DC board and finally ended up becoming the president of CREW DC in 2012 as president of CREW dc.
(03:16):
My first priority was how to raise the profile of CREW with senior members or really accomplished women in the organization and me and my board got together and we really wanted these high level CRE women to be active and to participate in CREW programs in recruiting others into the organization. And we knew if we were successful in doing that, we'd get others to attend and become members because that's what really draws people to organizations. I continued to stay active and I think it was very successful when I joined as president in 2012, we had about 150 members and I think I started the impetus and now it's one of the largest chapters of CREW Networks. I've remained active in CREW and have actually asked a lot of people from my prior organization and US Bank to join in different areas wherever they are located all over the country.
(04:25):
And I have to say, Wendy, when I started working, at least being active in CREW and now I'm active in multiple other industry organizations as well, I did not realize the potential that this would have and the boost it would give my career and really how it acts as a differentiator from everybody else because what being active in an industry organization does is it helps you build your brand first, which is connecting with peers, connecting with mentors and professionals which are interested in your field, exposes you to new ideas and cultures and it really broadens your perspective so you're not narrowly looking at only your area of the business, but it really expands your horizons. It's very confidence building because it gives you leadership opportunities in the industry and also exposes you to a number of senior people who can act as mentors for you.
(05:28):
It helps to build a company brand because you get name recognition for the company, you get credibility for the company. It also signals that management supports your investment time investment and commitment to the industry. And it also helps in the exchange of knowledge and ideas. If you're seen at industry events, you end up going at least once a month. So it's like forced Networking the industry and you become like a trusted advisor to your clients. And then another thing it does, it also furthers the community goals for the bank because all the industry organizations have their own community service goals and I think it helps you get involved in the community more than anything else. And I think something that I took away from CREW and my interaction with everybody, and I kind of underestimated that, is that having mentors and sponsors which are outside your company, they have a very different perspective and they really bring to you a lot of things which you don't get just by Networking internally in your company. And I think that really helped me as well in my career progression.
Wendy Mann (06:50):
And I think that there's something really great to be said for that of getting that outside perspective because women sometimes tend to stay in their office, put their head down and work really hard, but putting your head up and outward and having those influences, it really is not just beneficial to you as an employee of a company, but it's beneficial to the company as well because you're bringing back Insight and intelligence in 2017 or 2018, I think you received the career Advancement award from CREW Network, which based on what you're saying, it validates the trajectory that you had of I came into CREW, I saw I valued and leveraged and I gave back to CREW. And because of all the work you've done of mentoring, of encouraging others to become part of the organization, you were recognized that for that as well. And I just want to mention that because I think it is just that credibility of someone who's walking their talk that it's not just lip service. So congratulations on that as well.
Sadhvi Subramanian (07:56):
Thank you for that, Wendy. And as you know, DEI has really been an integral part of my journey. People have helped me so much in my journey that I feel it's important to continue to be involved and it's a learning process for me too. So I think it's helped me a lot and I hope I'm able to continue to work with younger people and help them as well in their career journeys.
Wendy Mann (08:21):
I'm sure you will. As a female leader at the nation's fifth largest bank, as you mentioned largest, can you share with us what is your most important leadership lesson that you've learned?
Sadhvi Subramanian (08:32):
You can't do anything alone. I think you have to curate the right team. It has to be different skillsets. So they compliment each other, should be able to delegate and guide the team. But I think you also have to have their back that you can't delegate responsibility. So I think that's really been very important
Wendy Mann (08:57):
As the commercial real estate industry is a bottom line kind of business. So one of my focus areas this year is getting companies to seed the ROI for investing in women's Professional Development. CREW is not just a Network, it's not just women drinking wine. There's substantial content that we're teaching women and building their skillset, skilling them up for opportunity. What are your thoughts on the industry and how we get companies to see the value investing about investing in women and growing their leadership within CRE companies?
Sadhvi Subramanian (09:34):
So I think just talking to companies about the power of being part of a team, being part of an industry organization and just trying to put on paper the results that it gets for the individuals who are in the organization. And I can give an example of a young professional at US Bank who was very active in CREW DC and you could see the change in the confidence level, her market knowledge, the way she approached people was just a much more confident, knowledgeable individual at the end of a couple of years being part of CREW tc. So I think all those things help a lot. Again, this is a very tough time, Wendy, as you know for CRE. So you just have to give the company all the data. And I know you publish a lot of data in CREW just saying how CREW has helped different organizations change their diversity goals, how you have helped people progress in their career journeys. And I think just showing examples of what CREW has done really helps people get there. And I think CREW Networks is very different from what it was when I joined it in 2007. It's a global organization, it has a large membership base and also it's a recognized name. People know about CREW and I think you can see it in your sponsorships that you have now from all the large organizations. They know what CREW is and are willing to sponsor
Wendy Mann (11:18):
It. And I would just add to that, I just was on a call with a young woman and I would say young woman, she's probably a mid-level person within another finance institution. And she told me that she actually tracks all of the people that she meets and the deals she makes and how she can tie them back to CREW so that every time she gets asked by someone in leadership, what's the ROI, she actually has data points of things that she's attended and what she's gotten out of it financially for the bank, for the organization she works for. And she said she's very conscientious about it because she understands that leadership is very dollar and cents focused. I know the times we're living in right now are unusual, mean it's a cyclical industry, we know their ups and downs, it's going to come back. So maybe now isn't the time where companies are throwing a lot of money at professional development for women.
(12:13):
I just hope that women go and ask, you have to ask for it. If you don't ask for it, you don't get it. And you also need to be able to show that kind of ROI to say, yes, I've attended five CREW meetings and it's cost the company X, Y, Z, but here are all the relationships I have now and here are the three deals I've gotten out of that. And so that kind of definitive ROI think is what companies are looking for. But I also feel like if you have to ask, if you don't ask, you're never going to even get a no. And it may be a no is a soft yes or a soft maybe
Sadhvi Subramanian (12:48):
Not only do you have to ask, you have to believe you really want to do it and it shows. So if you ask in not a very organized manner, you're not going to get it. So you have to have the data, you have to have know why you want to be part of CREW. And I think you have to articulate that very well when you're asking for it. And I think it kind of shows
Wendy Mann (13:13):
This looks like it's a nice to have, but in all honesty, I think to be competitive in today's business world, you need to be getting your people trained up and upskilled on a constant basis with all the changes happening. And that's what organizations like CREW is able to do is to give them the leadership skills development, the industry knowledge, and really help people become more of an asset within a company.
Sadhvi Subramanian (13:37):
Yeah, I completely tend to agree. We do have to recognize that all large organizations have a lot of competing priorities. So that's why I say you have to want it. You have to want to become a member of CREW and that's when it'll show and that's what you want to do comes to the top,
Wendy Mann (13:57):
Correct. Right. I always say that the fish rots from the head down. If the CEO is not advocating for something, then it's not going to happen. So that's why I am all about getting the CEOs on board. I want to say thanks for being here with me today. I really love what you said at the beginning about No one Chief success alone, that it's working in partnership and relationships are really important. I know that really reflects who you are as well as both an individual and as a colleague. And that's what I love about you. Ever since I met you, you've just always been, okay, let's see how we can work this through. You're always coming up with ideas and you're always willing to work with people. And so I thank you. Any last words you want to share about your leadership or leadership in the industry? Any words of wisdom in parting?
Sadhvi Subramanian (14:47):
No. All I wanted to say was, look, it's a really tough time in commercial real estate, but we are coming back. We always do and stay positive and things will change. And like you said, Wendy, change is the only thing that's constant. And hope to continue to work with CREW and keep supporting CREW as long as I can. And thank you again for having me. Thank
Wendy Mann (15:11):
Thank you, Sadhvi. We're glad to have you as part of our CREW. Thanks so much.