Stephanie Cox, RCM â From Grass Roots to Balanced Proficiency

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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
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Stephanie Cox, RCM â From Grass Roots to Balanced Proficiency

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