Father's Day Edition: What CRE Execs Tell Their Industry Kids

Happy Father’s Day to all you dads out there. Some of you will be getting some rare time with your adult children. On the other hand, we rounded up seven dads who might run into their kids during any workday.

Tim Relyea, Morgan Relyea and Brooke Relyea Wommack

Cushman & Wakefield executive vice chairman Tim Relyea gets to work with two of his three daughters at Cushman & Wakefield; here he’s between director Morgan Relyea and associate Brooke Wommack. The ladies say no one wants to teach you more than your own father, and they’re lucky to have the best guide in the industry. Watching Tim’s special take on real estate (he views it as a sport rather than a job, Brooke says) drew them to the industry. The Relyea girls (including their sister Jolie, a dentist) grew up hunting, fishing and traveling with their dad. Tim loves to watch his daughters’ work ethic and willingness to go the extra mile for clients without any prodding from him. Even more important, he’s proud to watch them be honest, kind and friendly with everyone. The Relyeas will spend Father’s Day cooking out and swimming.

Derrell and Chris Curry

Savills Studley EVP/co-branch manager Derrell Curry and his son, HFF director Chris Curry (pictured: Chris, Derrell and son-in-law Zach Osborne), keep separate corners of real estate—Chris is in multifamily sales, and Derrell’s in office leasing—but they have shared information and referred business to each other. People tell Derrell all the time what an exceptional job Chris is doing and call him a rising star, which makes Derrell particularly proud. Chris likes knowing that his dad has been in his shoes and that he always has someone he trusts for guidance. The downside: It can be difficult to find your own path when your father has already had so much success. The best advice Derrell ever gave him: Your reputation and hard work are paramount to success in this business. Now that Chris is a father himself, they’re making new Father’s Day traditions.

Mark Kidd Sr. and Jr.

The two Mark Kidds see each other daily—for the past three years, they’ve run M Kidd Properties together (senior as president, junior as director). The gents tell us they enjoy strategizing the goals of their company together and collaborating on deals. Senior is proud of his son’s ability to communicate and anticipate questions and needs, and how he uses the Internet to research little-known info about properties, people, companies and areas of historical significance. The downside is that they can talk about work too much while spending time with the rest of the family. Their family tradition: making Mark’s Nearly Famous Handmade Pepper Jelly and giving to friends, clients and colleagues at Christmas. Junior says the best advice he ever got from his dad was “time kills deals” and “communicate early and often.” The Marks are taking a family trip to Destin, FL, for the holiday.

Scott and Tallon Martin

Granite Properties executive managing director Scott Martin and Republic Ranches’ Tallon Martin (here hunting in the hills of Pennsylvania, a major family tradition) enjoy leveraging each other’s networks. Scott says it’s amazing how many commercial real estate brokers and his tenants have farms and ranches in Texas; Tallon even recently helped find a ranch for an owner of a major Houston brokerage firm than Granite often does deals with. (Halfway through the process, everyone figured out the connection.) They enjoy working in different parts of the industry because there’s no conflict between their businesses. Scott says he’s so proud that Tallon followed his dream and found his passion. Tallon says the best advice he ever got was that Martins never give up and that your word is your greatest asset. Father’s Day will probably find the duo at the family ranch in Colorado County.

Tommy and Warren Alexander

Tommy and Warren Alexander have worked together at Fritsche Anderson for nine years, which means Tommy’s wife/Warren’s mom Diane always has to hear them talk shop. Warren likes having a mentor he can always trust to help him grow and adapt with the ever-evolving real estate industry. On the downside, they don’t always see eye to eye on how to do things (or on sports teams—Warren roots for his alma mater, Texas, and Tommy for his, Rice), and working in the same office gives them plenty of time to discuss their differences. One of their favorite traditions is recapping weekend sporting events on Monday mornings. Tommy is proud of his son’s progression through the business and his honesty. This year, Father’s Day falls on Tommy and Diane’s 40th wedding anniversary, so they’ll be duly celebrating!

Tom Langley and Jill Sims

Satterfield & Pontikes project executive Tom Langley and STG director of marketing Jill Sims love being a part of the same industry, bouncing ideas and leads off each other and crossing paths at events. Their companies are even teamed together on a project in Midland and Jill interned at Tom’s construction company in college. Every year, the two (and Jill’s three sisters) participate in the Babes on the Bay fishing tournament in Rockport, the largest women’s fishing tournament in the world. (Jill’s the one directly to the right of Tom.) Tom loves having so much in common professionally with Jill and is proud of the reputation she has earned in the industry. Jill is thankful Tom taught her the importance of taking initiative, rather than being reliant on others to do so.

Ian and Gavin Parr

CCS International, led by president Ian Parr and director of business in Texas Gavin Parr, have been taking the construction/development world by storm together for 15 years, although they typically divide and conquer, working on separate projects. Gavin loves having a sounding board and cheerleader in his father although he cites working with Dad as both a pro and a con. Ian is proud that Gavin has become respected and recognized by his own peer group. His best advice to Gavin is to take things one at a time, never go to bed angry and most importantly, treat others how you want to be treated. Every year, the two take a father/son trip, typically involving fly fishing. However, they are both huge soccer fans and after three years of planning, they trekked to the World Cup last year, making a lifetime of memories and taking the photo above.