Kimberly Lockhart.
Kimberly Lockhart, 30
Workplace Design Strategist at Savills
When Kimberly Lockhart finished her bachelor’s at East Carolina University, she wasn’t sure exactly what she wanted to do for a living — but she knew she wanted to live in New York City. She stumbled across a listing for a “benchmark analyst” at architecture firm HLW.
That was how she got her start in workplace strategy, which involves using data to market spaces and optimize them.
“The second I found workplace strategy, I was addicted to it,” she said. “I’m not pigeonholed into one sector. It’s a lot of client pursuits, pitching conversations, new client strategy and marketing strategy.”
She did two stints on HLW’s workplace strategy team, with a year at Gensler in between. Soon Lockhart realized that she wanted to be involved in developing real estate strategy earlier in the process of development and leasing. That was how she ended up at Savills in the fall of 2019.
“We realized our insights would have been a lot more valuable if we’d been involved at the beginning of the process, when people are thinking about relocating or downsizing,” she explained. “I started looking more into the real estate consultant side of things. Now my conversation is really at the beginning, when brokers go out and pursue pitches.”
In her current role, she talks to clients, brokers, architects, owners and clients’ employees. She sends out regular surveys to tenants and owners to get a sense of what people are looking for in offices. Employees are playing a larger role in workplace design than they ever have before, too.
“The people’s voice is a lot stronger,” Lockhart said. “It’s a lot more bottom up. We’re recommending making sure we hear from people, putting in a more flexible, function-based approach [to workplace design]. People don’t want to come back if they aren’t listened to.”
In her spare time, she volunteers with the Big Brothers Big Sisters of America program, where she’s mentoring (over video chat) a junior in high school who’s just beginning to prepare college applications. Lockhart also loves going to concerts, traveling, photography, and spending time with her friends in Williamsburg, Brooklyn, where she’s lived for several years.—R.B.R.
