Markets like these and others—Mr. Sitt mentioned Africa as a potential future focus—offer fewer established brokerage competitors and, subsequently, a level playing field for a company like High Street to become active in growing economies.
“The world is made up of seven billion people, and by 2050 we’ll add another three billion people to that—that’s a staggering number,” Mr. Sitt said. “People translates into demand.”
Elaborating on how his vision fits in with the world’s changing demographics, Mr. Sitt continued to add and project numbers with extraordinary detail, as though he had memorized Census Bureau statistics, which he probably has.
“In a study I had done for a particular tenant: Tanzania has about 45 million people, in 2050 it will be 145 million. Congo has 66 million, it will 150 million. Nigeria has 160 million, it will be 390 million. Are you listening to those numbers?” he asked, midstream.
“Ten years from today, you’ll be looking back and you’ll remember that you were sitting in this office and we were discussing how the world is going to change and you’ll remember you heard it here first.”
dgeiger@observer.com
