Ted Jankowski, the new chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, in his office last week.
About 12 weeks into his new job as chief executive officer of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board, Ted Jankowski already has set some fairly ambitious goals for himself and his staff.
By this summer, Jankowski hopes to eliminate a lot of the paperwork the board handles by offering virtually all member services, particularly course registration, online. And in upcoming months, Jankowski wants to focus on team building and strengthening the organization internally.
GBREB, with its five separate divisions, is a unique organization, explains Jankowski.
“It’s the only real estate organization … across the country that has such a broad umbrella that covers all of the real estate interests with one fell swoop – both residential and commercial,” he said.
With one voice, Jankowski says, GBREB speaks and advocates for Realtors, commercial brokers, investors, developers and property managers and owners. “Unfortunately, I don’t think that voice has been well coordinated in recent years. I think that’s something that can improve and strengthen. And part of that is we have to strengthen our organization in terms of improving our customer service delivery to our over 7,000 members,” said Jankowski.
‘A Terrific City’
During a recent interview in his office, Jankowski expressed confidence that he was up to the challenges that lay ahead. He said what he enjoys most is managing people and putting together information technology systems – skills that he has already had to tap into at GBREB.
“I’m very fortunate that my life’s experiences have particularly suited me for this job,” he said. “It seems like my career has always required a blending of responsibilities. Now I have … an opportunity that can really make a difference here because real estate is so important to our economy.”
GBREB announced the hiring of Jankowski back in January. He replaces Edwin J. Shanahan, a 20-year veteran of the board who left to start his own lobbying firm.
Jankowski was working as deputy city manager in Portsmouth, N.H., when a recruiter contacted him about the job. For Jankowski, a job centering on Greater Boston real estate wasn’t a far-fetched career leap. From 1985 through 1992, Jankowski served as Boston’s assessing commissioner under Mayor Raymond Flynn. During those years, Jankowski was crediting for helping to get a bill passed that shifted more of the tax burden from homeowners to commercial and industrial property owners.
But perhaps even more critical for a group like GBREB, which has had a strong presence on Beacon Hill over the years, Jankowski established ties with some of today’s most influential state and city leaders. Jankowski knew Thomas Menino before he was Boston mayor and Robert Travaglini before he was state Senate president.
For the last 11 years, however, Jankowski was a fixture in Portsmouth politics. He served as the city’s finance director and was named deputy city manager in 2000. In between, Jankowski had to fill in as acting manager twice.
During his years in New Hampshire, Jankowski played a key role in the battle to reform the property tax and school finance system. He was named executive director of The Coalition Communities, a coalition of 34 New Hampshire communities that is seeking to repeal the statewide property tax.
Portsmouth City Manager John P. Bohenko, who worked with Jankowski for seven years, said Jankowski kept the coalition’s efforts at the forefront of the Legislature.
“He is a very good project manager and very good at taking a project from the beginning and seeing it through the end,” said Bohenko. “He was a great asset and someone I looked toward for advice.”
Throughout his career, Jankowski has learned to build coalitions to solve problems. In Portsmouth, for example, Jankowski oversaw the negotiation of an agreement among city, state and federal authorities to redevelop the Pease Air Force Base. In addition, he headed a committee that worked with real estate developers and environmentalists to preserve a conservation area known as the Great Bog that was going to be developed into high-end housing.
While those experiences in New Hampshire were rewarding, Jankowski always thought he’d be back in Boston someday. “Boston is a terrific city,” he said.
Currently, Jankowski commutes from his Portsmouth home, but he plans to move back to the Greater Boston area. In the meantime, Jankowski is focusing on the internal workings of GBREB.
Jankowski is exploring ways to keep GBREB’s members better informed about upcoming activities, courses and programs. While GBREB’s different divisions offer a variety of educational programs, they’re not always marketed effectively to the entire membership, explained Jankowski.
“We’ll be looking to sort of recast ourselves … making sure that we’re allowing opportunities for every member of the Greater Boston Real Estate Board to fully participate in any of the programs that are offered by any of our divisions,” he said.
Jankowksi is also in the process of recruiting a new government affairs director. The position has been vacant since October when Joy Conway, the former senior vice president for government and industry affairs, left to take a new job. He’s also looking to hire a part-time general counsel.
In the future, Jankowski may be turning to the past as a guide. Last week, Jankowski recalled that GBREB was viewed as a very influential association in the 1980s. The board once had a Research Department that provided valuable information, including apartment vacancy surveys.
As a younger man some 15 to 20 years ago who had just started to do nursing home appraisals, Jankowski remembers walking into the GBREB offices seeking some information. He was welcomed by staffers who were eager to provide guidance.
“That embodies what the board used to be,” he said.
Jankowski believes the organization can once again be as influential because of its willing leaders and because the real estate industry is such a big part of the regional economy.
“I think that [GBREB is] an outstanding board [with] bright young leaders that are really looking to make a difference in the business and civic community in Greater Boston,” he said, “and I think that the Greater Boston Real Estate Board has an opportunity to play a role in that regard.”
