But in his six years at the firm, he’s worn a variety of hats. “I’ve worked in maintenance, as an assistant property manager, and as a property manager,” he says. “I’ve worked in accounting and as a receptionist. I’ve done everything from snow removal to software development.”
The 27-year-old, who has just completed his MBA, is an IREM Next Gen CPM Leader. He credits IREM for its focus on education and its ability to “evolve as the industry evolves.”
When asked to define that evolution, he echoes Blanton’s view of the broader profession:
“There are the frontline people, the technical people and the property managers everyone sees,” he says. “But then there are the teams behind them, the other disciplines making not just the company, but the entire industry run.” IREM’s broad-based focus, in its educational tracks and its promotion of younger professionals with all sorts of backgrounds and interest areas, feeds that evolution. “It’s amazing to see.”
Holland came to Sunrise from a different path–as is the case with many of the young professionals featured in this series. He studied Physics at the State University of New York at Albany and says, “I loved it” (though he confesses he wasn’t a fan of the classwork). He was asked to join Sunrise by his dad, President and Founder Jesse Holland, CPM®, to “help make the company run a little more efficiently.”
No matter the job at hand, “My strength is in problem solving and growing efficiencies,” a passion that fits nicely in his current IT role. Wisely, as both the son of the founder and a younger member of the team, “You can’t just walk in right out of college and tell people what to do.”
Thankfully, he understands the value of positive connections. “This industry is all about relationships,” he says.
While the problem-solving challenges of IT are Holland’s current focus, “It doesn’t mean forever,” he says, “and my role tends to change as the company moves.”
As it has for the past six years. And whether it’s snow removal or computer programming, every new challenge yields two outcomes. It’s true for Holland, and it’s also true of other young professionals growing within the industry. The first outcome, obviously, is to expand a resume, grow talent, and add capabilities to one’s skill set. The second is to underscore once more the ever-broadening definition of what it means to be a property manager.
Where will Adam Holland be in 10 years? He answers the question not so much by title as much as by function: “I see myself leading that charge of making property management more flexible and adaptable to the change that’s going on around us, and making up-and-coming employees more comfortable with their chosen profession.”