Get to Know Forte: Five Questions with Steve Brown

1. What first got you interested in healthcare real estate?

My father was an oncologist and was starting his own private practice in 1986, shortly after I had started my first position in commercial real estate. He needed help with finding a small three-person office and asked me to help…..I think he was feeling just “throwing me a bone” since I was just starting out. When we were done, I started to get calls from physicians who were friends of his and had heard about how I had helped him with his office. At that time, I worked for a boutique real estate company called American Commercial Properties (who was eventually acquired by The Shelard Group) and was doing office, industrial, and retail leasing to learn the business. The healthcare part of my work grew steadily, and in 2000 I was recruited to form a healthcare advisory practice at United Properties, which ultimately became Cushman & Wakefield.

2. If you could be doing anything else except working, what would it be?

I will say that I absolutely love what I do for a living and am grateful for the opportunity to have worked with so many great clients over the years. But if could do anything else, I would travel as much as I could. I’ve been blessed to travel quite a bit in my life, but there are still so many places that I’d still love to see……some a second time!

3. What role have sports played in your life? How has that supported your career?

I have been involved in sports my entire life, and the lessons learned participating in those activities has played a critical role in my career. Commercial real estate is a very competitive business, one which requires the desire to win, and the ability to lose gracefully. In the work that I do in healthcare, it also requires the ability to collaborate. The ability to collaborate is a critical skill to be successful.  The ability to collaborate with your client, your colleagues, external vendors, is a skill that was engrained in me from playing team sports.

4. If you weren’t in commercial real estate, what would you be doing? What did 10-year-old Steve Brown want to do when he grew up?

When I was child, I was absolutely convinced that I wanted to go into advertising. I loved commercials, and my mother would tell me that I preferred the commercials over the shows that were on TV, which was probably true. When I graduated from college, several of my graduation gifts had to do with advertising companies and businesses with great advertising campaigns because people had heard me talk about it for so long. However, after I started interviewing with advertising companies, it immediately became clear that I did not have the skills to be successful in advertising.

5. What’s your favorite place to hang out in the Twin Cities?

Hmmm? I don’t know that I have a favorite place to hang out in the Twin Cities. I have many places I like to frequent, and many activities that keep me busy. But a favorite, I don’t think I have one.