Stephanie Cox, RCM — From Grass Roots to Balanced Proficiency

RCM PROFILE
Stephanie Cox, RCM — From Grass Roots to
Balanced Proficiency
By Viktor von Buchstab
Stephanie Cox shows a balance among life, work, play,
health, education and social facets. All that, and a full
plate of board and committee meetings at Brookfield’s
prestigious 77 Harbour Square flagship complex.
Stephanie’s property management experience goes back
farther than most – in fact, to her early teen/formative
years. Like Kim Mullins, who was interviewed in our
last issue, Stephanie wound up in her early building
management phases by default, helping her father,
David Cox, PEng, with the physical properties that arose
out of his investment business. As various
administrative, communications and clerical functions
needed extra arms and legs – and brains – the young Stephanie wound up checking
equipment status, interfacing with building and maintenance trades, doing basic
bookkeeping and advanced floor-coverings assessments. (She still hates bookkeeping but
now she has accounting professionals to look after such painstaking number-crunching.)
Such exposure to the numbers of multi-dwelling structures also gave her early insight
into the factors that make up a building’s operations.
The tall, fit, health-conscious condo manager recounts how early career moves converged
with the mainstream. First, in her father’s rental-management activities, she quickly took
charge, became the heir apparent, and then the heir, as she advanced a fast-moving
career, benefitting from her father’s intense tutelage as much as more formalized Ryerson
and ACMO courses. When Cox Sr. decided to semi-retire (keeping only his engineering
consultancy and some minor property interests) he turned “the family company,” Abinger
Investment Properties Inc., over. His daughter took to this augmented role (albeit a subtle
transition) like a duck to water, and found her combination of management skills, people
skills and technical building know-how made her a natural for the role.
“Thinking of events in my career that were pivotal,” she recalls, “there are memorable
things when I felt like a hero. When I started working in the family business, we started
with rental properties – only two condominiums which came from us managing the
investor units within the [building development]. As I was responsible for managing
these condos, I decided to join ACMO and learn more about condominium management.
The courses taught me a lot of things that were quickly implemented.
“From there, I became ‘the condominium expert’ in the family business and, mostly
through word of mouth, started actively seeking new condominiums to manage.
Developing the bid document, attending the interview, landing the contract – these were
largely my role.
“There is nothing that feels better than landing a new contract. The excitement of a sale is
truly one of the most exciting feelings I have had in my career, in fact, in life, being
responsible for convincing those boards that you were the best. I certainly wanted to

prove it. This really helped me be a good manager – as I was so closely involved in
telling them what I could do, I knew what I had to do. In the ten years that I was part of
Abinger, we landed about ten contracts and eight of them we managed for the ten years
until the company sold.
“The most exciting contract that I landed was, however, not a condominium,” Cox
reflects. “We were sent a bid document for a government-subsidized building that was
looking for managers in Kingston. When we received the tender it was so complicated –
pages of required information, bid bonds and the like. In discussing the RFQ with my
father, he said that it was too comprehensive to complete within the deadline. However, I
was so excited about landing more business that I worked extremely hard to put together
all the information and secure the required bonds in time. When it came time for the
interview at the government offices Peter Elliot (our VP of operations at the time), my
father and I flew to Ottawa via Buttonville Airport in this little charter airplane. We all
felt like big-time New York entrepreneurs! That day we flew back to Toronto with the
signed contract. (They told us that the building was for sale and that we would only be
managing it for six months; however, eight years later, we were still managing the
building and, in fact, my father is still managing this property today.) A day like that you
never forget.”
Things moved along for our nascent condo manager. Her Abinger portfolio grew with the
firm as she rounded out her basic management skills with courses, experience and
increasing contact with peers and leaders of Ontario’s condo management industry. Yet it
became apparent that, to grow further, in more sophisticated management directions, it
would make sense to become part of a larger organization with a hierarchy of
management functions, as well as the complexities and opportunities that come with
larger scale. Rubbing shoulders now, with a broad spectrum of other property managers
within the Association’s circles, she had already established who were kindred spirits and
who were peripherals.
Again, it must be realized what a powerful formative, as well as cultural influence her
engineer-father represented here – complete with the high levels of personal integrity and
professional conduct he represented. That seems to have led her to associate with other
managers and companies holding such views.
Eventually, Stephanie (and her father) decided it was time to sell Abinger Investment
Properties and the most compatible candidate emerged as Brookfield, since she had
already developed good rapport with the company’s high-profile John Oakes (oft quoted
in other interviews in this series). Oakes seemed to reflect much of Cox Sr’s. ideologies
of up-front transparency, coupled with good comprehension and management of people,
buildings, their physical plant and the integral stewardship of their property investments.
Eventually, the negotiations led to the May 2000 sale of Abinger’s condominium
contracts to Brookfield – along with a smooth-transition contract under which Stephanie
(now as regional manager) continued to manage the same Scarborough-centered
properties, plus supervising an expanding portfolio of properties (each with its own
manager).
“The day I was to start with Brookfield, I went to the old offices of Abinger on my way,”
Stephanie remembers. “The office was all in boxes. It was heart-wrenching. However it
didn’t take long before I felt almost as proud to be part of this new organization.
Brookfield is also very personal – like a big family – with many more people and

esources, and without being the only responsible party for landing contracts and paying
employees.” She adds, “Being an employer makes you far more respectful of owners and
presidents of big corporations because you can relate to the personal responsibility.”
Stephanie’s father recalls this era well, having been parent and mentor throughout the
formation of the young property manager’s career. He elaborated how his daughter had
shown some promise in the management field, as well as the willingness to do the hard
work and complete the formal training required to excel. He noted how, while on school
holidays, she had taken on major studies, e.g., carpet (and other floor covering) lore and
science – how to buy/specify such materials, as well as maintenance and replacement
strategies. He echoed her enthusiasm regarding one of the last summer jobs she did
(while studying business management at Ryerson Polytechnic). This, both Coxes told us,
seemed a pivotal piece of research, centering on the nature of property management
services – and how to market them. We could see how she became one of her own best
reference sources, since she defined the criteria that identified the successful manager of
condominium or rental properties and she embraced the accrued wisdom, practicing the
best tenets of what her field-work showed works.
Fast-forwarding to her Brookfield tenure, Cox Sr. remarked how he felt that organization
represented a logical growth path – both for Stephanie and for Brookfield. He saw the
company as a strong, fast-growth entity, moving in directions that seemed to coincide
with his daughter’s business ideologies and growth ambitions, making their convergence,
under the Brookfield banner, a natural success. “I felt she would make a real contribution
to Brookfield,” David Cox told us. “Both sides felt each would benefit.” He added, “She
was the most important part of the sale,” since it was apparent the organization was
acquiring not only a property portfolio, but a property manager with strong benefits to the
firm as well.
As regional manager, Stephanie oversaw the activities of various site managers – much as
she might have wanted to do with Abinger, but now with more corporate resources
available. “My role at this job was more to facilitate the managers and make sure that
they have all the resources to do the best job they can,” she explains. One thing I
remember was a manager calling me up, stating that the board had agreed to replace the
chiller (and its maintenance contract) with a different company than was currently
servicing the existing chillers. Part of the contract that the board signed was a service
contract. After the new chillers were in place, the site manager gave notice to the existing
contractor. They refused to cancel the contract and wanted payment – in full – for the
remaining term!
“Having been through a similar experience, I knew that we were not sitting in a good
position. I phoned up the senior fellow in the organization and made an appointment. At
the end, partly because Brookfield had so many other contracts on other sites, I was able
to get them to agree to cancel – with no penalty. The relief and gratitude of the manager
is what makes you feel good – that you actually accomplished something.”
Stephanie’s condominium management career continued to grow without major incident
“except for the usual floods, fires, etc.” However, there may have been some element of
curiosity as to what alternative careers might have suited her. In October 2002, she
decided to check the colour of the grass further afield, and took on an entrepreneurial role
in an out-of-town holiday investment development program. It was not to be. By yearend,
she was swiftly drawn back into condominium management and, having maintained

good relations with Brookfield, she came right back into the fold, this time managing one
of the larger “glamour” sites at 77 Harbour Square – in the heart of Toronto’s waterfront
and tourist district.
Not only is this a flagship property in Brookfield’s portfolio, but it’s one of the largest – a
complex encompassing 812 suites, in one of the pricier real estate districts in the city. “In
my new position, I am responsible for a staff of 42. I still experience the same feeling of
success – only on a different level [versus being regional manager],” she explains, adding
the prestige site’s mandate is focused on in-house staff performing various functions
more commonly farmed out to independent contractors at other condo complexes. Again,
she finds a lot of on-the-job satisfaction. “It is still easy to measure your success by
turning an angry, irate owner into a happy customer, keeping staff motivated and happy,
and by getting things done quickly and efficiently at the board level. This all makes me
feel like I am accomplishing something that is so important for being happy in your
career.”
Still, we find a recurring sense of harmony among Stephanie’s varied vocations and
avocations. Shortly after this interview, she was off to ski Whistler, seeking her Nirvana
at some sweet trajectory between ground and the resort’s 6,500 ft. peak. It’s about balance.
*
Viktor von Buchstab is a freelance writer based in Toronto.
* CM Condominium Manager Magazine – Spring 2004