Name: Kenneth Hecht
Title: Principal
Company: Hecht Development
Location: 30 Monument Square, Suite 101, Concord, Mass.
Date of birth: February 4, 1956
Family: Wife, Patty; Daughter, Danielle (21); Son, Brendan (18)
College: University of Illinois, Civil Engineering; Washington University & Northeastern, MBA studies
First job unrelated to your current field: Civil engineer building power plants
First job in real estate or allied field: Investment broker with Coldwell Banker Commercial 1985
What do you do now and what are you planning for the future: Build the Hecht Development ownership portfolio with 50,000+ s/f retail, office and industrial buildings
Hobbies: Coaching, working out, reading, travel with friends and family
Favorite book: "No Ordinary Time" - Doris Kearns Goodwin
Favorite movie: "Saving Private Ryan"
Person you admire most (outside of family): Warren Buffett
Key to success: Add value in everything that you do.
If you had to choose another vocation what would it be? Coaching
Now what? As the year comes to a close, the state of retail is always in the news. The answers vary greatly depending on who in the various related industries you ask, each offering a unique lens on the challenges and opportunities ahead.
This may seem self-serving, and I’ll be the first to admit it. But unlike some of the artificial intelligence tools now reshaping our industry, I am fully aware of my own bias. So, hear me out. The rise of AI in commercial real estate is not a distant threat or a speculative headline.