Moving Forward: What's New With The Bisnow/Wicks Partnership

By now you've heard Bisnow has been acquired by The Wicks Group in New York. And you may be wondering what that means for our business, clients, sponsors and event attendees. Here's what you need to know about Bisnow's future and who will be spearheading it.

Will Friend, CEO, Bisnow

Bisnow: How has your role changed as a result of this change in ownership?

Will: I'm now focused entirely on the next chapter of our growth, which means building our existing team into one that is best poised to accomplish the bold growth plans currently being put in motion.  

Bisnow: What are your expectations for the company under its new ownership?  

Will: We arrived at where we are today by working hard, dreaming big, and never giving up on putting together the most educational, entertaining and enjoyable events in the industry. And we've tried to do the same not just offline but online with our content—we need to keep doing that.  

Bisnow: What's the single biggest difference you think clients and event attendees will see in Bisnow over the next 12 months?

Will: My hope is that you'll see an even wider variety of product offerings across the country, and soon in Europe.

Hometown: London, UK.
First job: Waiting tables, delivering sandwiches, coaching tennis and tutoring Math (we're all struggling to believe the latter two).
Education: Left Harrow and family in the UK at 15 to go to St. Albans in DC, then SMU in Dallas.
Family life: Engaged; will be married by the end of the month. A dog on the way named after a British Explorer, "Sir Shackleton."
Favorite hobby: Flying (soon to have his license) and motorcycles. Fast ones.
Favorite new book: Fearless by Adam Brown.
Favorite vacation destination: Needs to do more firsthand research.
Startling fact: Second interview with Bisnow took place at former CEO Ryan Begelman's apartment, where he greeted Will in his pajamas and conducted interview on an air mattress. Will soon after joined the company instead of going into management consulting.

Dan Kortick, Managing Partner, Wicks Group

Bisnow: What does your day-to-day involvement in Bisnow's business look like?

Dan: Day-to-day I'll interact with the senior management team to help shape the strategic direction of Bisnow.

Bisnow: What attracted you to Bisnow in the first place?

Dan: The Bisnow team has generated tremendous momentum in its markets and has created a well-known and respected brand.

Bisnow: What do you think Bisnow can accomplish under Wicks' ownership?

Dan: I believe Wicks can help accelerate Bisnow's growth and enable the company to continue to attract top talent to further expand both domestically and internationally.

Hometown: I grew up in Cranston, RI, and currently live in Katonah, NY.
First job: Shoveling driveways with my brother.
How you got into private equity: I was working at a bank and had several private equity clients.
Family life: I have a 16-year-old daughter, Genesee.
Favorite hobby: Running and hiking on trails and mountains.
Favorite thing about Bisnow: The culture of having fun while succeeding.
Favorite vacation destination: The Himalayas.
Startling fact: I've begun running trail ultra-marathons of 50 and 100 miles.

What Will Not Change:

• Day-today operations at Bisnow will essentially remain the same.
• There will be no changes to the sales team, so clients will continue to receive top-notch service from the people they're used to dealing with.
• Our events team will see no changes, and will continue to create the most dynamic programming for our attendees.

What Will Change:

• Bisnow will expand into the UK and Germany this summer, with plans for several more European markets in the near future.
• We'll continue domestic expansion, bringing our incredible news and events platform to new and exciting markets within the US.
• Bisnow will be diversifying its events platform to include an even wider variety of events for you to choose from in your market and region.