The Power of Connection: Alex Vouvalides Reflects on One Year with EQ

Recently, the editorial team at EQ’s blog, PlaceLab, sat down with Alex Vouvalides to reflect on his first year as CEO. In their conversation, Alex spoke about the power of connection as it relates to managing a diverse portfolio that spans coast-to-coast; connection to our customers, the tenants that are navigating “new normals”; connection to our communities, the downtowns and the local businesses; and finally, the connection of EQ culture, a nationally dispersed company that operates best as “OneTeam.”  

Alex with COO, Josh Hatfield, who also joined in June 2022. Photo Credit: Brian Marcus

PL: Over the past few years, much has shifted in the way we think about work. What is the role of an office in today’s world?  

AV: I fundamentally believe that we are better when we're together. Despite the societal shifts that have resulted from the pandemic, office continues to play a pivotal role as the place where organizations establish culture. It remains a space for connection, collaboration, and professional as well as personal growth.  

And our tenants agree. In a recent survey, they ranked culture as the top reason it’s important to have and go into an office. How do you build an identity and a culture in an organization if you're not together? How do you seek out opportunities for growth and mentorship – the kind that happens through observation and collaboration – remotely? We’re social beings who like feeling part of something bigger than ourselves. Connection drives much of what we do. And when you're working in isolation, you lose that connectivity.  

PL: What does culture look like at EQ?  

AV: When I stepped into the role of CEO a year ago, what stood out right off the bat was the team’s sense of pride in the organization. We’ve recently landed on this idea of “OneTeam” as the cultural core of our foundation. For us, “OneTeam” means reaching across functions and regions to problem solve and come up with creative solutions that are impossible to achieve when operating in silos.   

PL: What advice do you have for organizations looking to build culture?   

AV: Come together. Like everything in life, culture is constantly changing and evolving. Don’t expect culture to be sitting at your desks waiting for you when you come into the office once a week. Culture is something that must be practiced, and every employee plays a role in defining it. Culture is what results from this magic of being together – repeatedly observing and collaborating with one another.  

Organizations are better when teams are together, and companies lose connectivity and culture when people are remote. Some of the best experiences in my professional career are the experiences I’ve had with colleagues in-person – navigating the ups and downs of my professional and personal life. It can be as small a gesture as someone asking you to grab coffee on a tough day or that pat on the back after a win; or as formal as having a mentor who regularly checks in to help you chart your career path. Some of the best friends I've made in life are through work. Those things wouldn't have happened if I was sitting at home.  

Alex and the Santa Monica team. Photo Credit: Jenna Fernandez

PL: Any advice for organizations looking to keep talent engaged? 

AV: I hope that in anyone’s career, they find a connection to their organization, other than just their day-to-day tasks; otherwise, what's the point? Yes, there's the practical element of needing a job, but people want to feel like they're making an impact. Being connected to the organization where they're spending so much of their time working is really important to the individual and the success that they're going to have. The people who are really invested in what the company's doing are going to be your most effective team members.  

PL: Looking beyond EQ, as the Return to Office (RTO) dialogue continues to evolve in real-time, what are you observing from your customers in how they are approaching work?  

AV: We have learned that “one size doesn't fit all” – it’s far more nuanced. RTO is largely driven by department or role, with harder lines being drawn for client-facing roles. The power struggle between employees and employers has softened, both recognizing the importance of in-person work to creativity, culture, and professional development – and a rhythm of three or more days a week in-office, with “Anchor Days”, designated days to show up for your team, being widely adopted as a tactic. And we are seeing that even the industries that were front-runners in promoting remote work, like tech, are now reversing their stance and adopting stricter in-office mandates. 

PL: How are you addressing these shifts in behavior?  

AV: For us to be successful, we have to keep our ear to the ground and evolve alongside our customers. As we get better information, we’re constantly evaluating how we can incorporate that feedback into the assets we own – whether it's physical changes to a building or operational changes that create more of an experience that weaves together the best elements of work.   

We aren't just operators – we are in the customer service business. And it starts by asking the right questions. If I'm meeting with a decision maker of an organization, my first instinct is to ask, “What do you need? What are the challenges you're facing as a leader of an organization? As you think through office, what's your objective? What are your goals as far as bringing people back? What are the challenges that you're facing? Where's the friction?”   

At the end of the day, we're offering a product. Hopefully we're a solution to space needs. It’s really about understanding the specific needs of an organization and then how we can offer solutions to address those needs. 

PL: How do you create an experience worth commuting to? 

AV: Our industry often references the “flight to quality”, but we should also consider the “flight to experience.” What's the difference between “flight to quality” and “flight to experience”? We started seeing it in the office sector even before the pandemic, where a lot of landlords were focused on incorporating themes that came from the hospitality sector into office. How do we make the experience feel more inviting the moment you walk into an office lobby?   

The nuance coming out of the pandemic is that we're now competing against home. What is it about home that makes people comfortable? As we think about office, what can we provide our customers with to make them feel more at home?    

It goes back to connection – creating environments and experience that enhance connection. So, if you're going to bring your employees back on a consistent basis, what environment are they coming back to? Big Tech was one of the first industries that saw the benefits in using real estate as a tool to attract and retain talent. A lot of other industries treated office as a commodity, and now they are recognizing the importance of space as the greatest asset for building culture. 

Customers enjoying a sneak peek of Cedar Hall at USBC in Seattle. Photo Credit: Jenna Fernandez

PL: How do you think about the environment beyond office?  

AV: I am a big believer that we are responsible for the communities in which we operate. At EQ, these communities are in many gateway cities across the country. How we “give back” can take many shapes and forms – whether it’s providing opportunities for youth, engaging with cultural ambassadors in our neighborhoods and bringing that experience to our tenants, or trying to address more systemic issues. We are part of a larger ecosystem that we depend on to bring vibrancy to our downtowns.   

PL: Any closing thoughts from your first year? 

AV: If I could describe my first year in a word, it would be “resiliency” or “adaptability.” What excites me about the future is that out of this disruption comes tremendous opportunities, and the work we are doing as an organization is positioning our team for long term success with the goal of ultimately, becoming thought partners to our customers.