Meet Our Speakers Series: Kate Good

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Kate Good is a 28-year sales and marketing veteran for the multifamily industry. She is the Sr. Vice President of Multifamily Development and Operations with Houston-based Hunington Residential. When she is not at the job site, she is traveling the country sharing her expertise with 15,000 industry professionals each year on the topics of new construction, improving underperforming assets and her unique approach to everything related to leasing, retention and marketing.

At the NAHB International Builders’ Show® (IBS) in January, Kate will present two sessions, “Ahead of the Curve: Exceeding Expectations with Innovative Multifamily Communities” and “If You Build It, Who Will Come? Generational Differences & Their Rental Impact.”

We caught up with Kate to get a sneak peek into her session and a few interesting tidbits, too.

NAHB: Without giving too much away, what will people learn at your IBS session?
KATE: My goal is to deliver a session packed with ideas that will inspire everyone building or redeveloping real estate today. From simple touches in a bathroom to a flashy amenity program, everyone can take a pile of these ideas and add the sparkle that makes our projects more marketable.

NAHB: Why should people come to the show to hear you speak?
KATE: I am not your typical speaker! I have a lot of fun while I am on stage, and I want the audience to have fun too. I am truly excited about these ideas and cannot wait for the next slide to turn. It is like unwrapping amazing gifts.

NAHB: What’s the one thing you are looking forward to the most while at IBS?
KATE: I love to see the grandeur of IBS. It is awe-inspiring to me as I see the size of the tradeshow and the millions of people and products that make the home building industry great.

NAHB: What’s your favorite part about public speaking?
KATE: I love the moment I turn off my microphone and people head to the stage to chat with me. Some want to tell me about an idea that I should add to my program. Others have compliments, which help me to know I made an impact. But most of all, it is the time I truly connect with industry professionals who I would invite to “my tribe.”

NAHB: This industry has changed dramatically in the past five years. What industry trends are you noticing?
KATE: We pay people more! Finally! I have witnessed salaries of our management teams, from site to home office, increase by 30%. We ask so much of the frontline; I have always felt they were underpaid.

NAHB: A random fact you can share with us …
KATE: I carried the placard and ushered in the team from Azerbaijan in the 1996 Olympics. I will never forget the feeling of seeing Muhammad Ali lighting the torch.

NAHB: What book did you read last?
KATE: This year an author named Brian Alexander wrote Glass House: The 1% Economy and the Shattering of the All-American Town. This is the story of a town that was detailed in a post-WWII edition of Fortune magazine because it was considered to be the ideal town for the post-war era. That town is Lancaster, Ohio, and it is where I grew up. The main employer in town was Anchor Hocking Glass and that is the reason we moved there. My dad was a glass salesman during a time of the corporate raiders and increased competition from foreign manufacturing. I learned about what really happened to the town that I loved so much and know will never be the same. You don’t have to be from Lancaster to appreciate this lesson in American business and the cautionary tale that its existence in 2017 will teach. I encourage everyone to read it.

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NAHB: What is your favorite travel spot and why?
KATE: It is usually the place I just left! In this case, it is where my honeymoon took place, June 2017—Cinque Terre, Italy. You will be charmed by the string of centuries-old seaside villages on the rugged Italian Riviera coastline. Five towns display colorful houses, and vineyards cling to steep terraces, harbors are filled with fishing boats and trattorias turn out seafood specialties along with the Liguria region’s famous sauce, pesto. The Sentiero Azzurro cliffside hiking trail links the villages and offers sweeping sea vistas. It was tough hiking but the view and my bowl of pasta at the end served as perfect incentives.

NAHB: In three words or less, describe your prediction of the building industry in 2018.
KATE: Technology takes over.

When you select “full registration” for IBS, you get access to over 140 sessions across 8 different building industry topic tracks. Register for IBS today.

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