The Cardinal Dispatch | Issue 02 | October - November 2020

ISSUE

02

O C T- D E C

2020

02

03

04

07

MESSAGE FROM LEADERSHIP

PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN

RIGHT PEOPLE, R I G H T S E AT

Q3 IN REVIEW

09

10

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OUR COMMITMENT TO DEI

TURN.

Q4 ROADMAP

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CANVAS ALLENDALE TEAM

ORGANIZATIONAL POSTURE FOR GROWTH BY: JASON LUKER

“YOU NEV ER K NOW WHO’ S SWIMMING NAK ED U NTIL THE TID E GOES OU T. CARD INAL WAS WEARING A WETSU IT.”

CHIEF FINANCIAL OFFICER

Despite the planet catching fire and the

allowed us to resume bonuses, open up the

raising capital from institutional investors to

total breakdown of civil society, Q3 2020

hiring freeze, and double down on learning

purchase more student housing communities,

has actually turned out pretty great for

and development opportunities for our team

and the demand has been overwhelming.

Cardinal. We experienced another year of

members.

We have already secured commitments for $300m in equity and are seeking to raise an

double-digit growth that is starting to seem commonplace for us but is incredible by any

One of the most meaningful personnel moves

additional $300m on top of that. This would

measure. This growth has strengthened our

we made this quarter was to promote Cara

give us the buying power to purchase 20,000+

financial position and prepared us to endure

Athmann to Chief Technology Officer. This

beds and further our goal of having a larger

the black swan event that was unpredictable

promotion is a recognition of the incredible

portion of our managed portfolio be owned

but inevitable. It has also put us in a position

contributions Cara has made to our company

assets. We are currently under contract to

where we can keep our team intact and take

and the leadership and insight she’s provided

purchase eight communities consisting of

advantage of opportunities that arise from the

to the board as we’ve transitioned from

more than 5,000 beds and have an extensive

chaos. You never know who’s swimming naked

stone age tools to a modern, data-driven

pipeline of deals lined up behind those. None

until the tide goes out. Cardinal was wearing a

organization. Cara’s impact on the company

of this would be possible without the best

wetsuit.

has been felt well beyond the technology

student housing team in the countr y leading

side, and we’re thrilled to have her voice in

the way.

COVID caused us to take a breather and slow

the board room to keep us from doing stupid

down hiring as we planned for the worst and

stuff. As we say, when John O’Brien thinks

As we head into Vision, our executive planning

hoped for the best. It ’s a testament to the

you’re the real deal, then you’re the real deal.

conference in October, and strategize the road

resiliency of our team members that a period

And Cara’s the real deal.

ahead, we are cautious but confident that we have the right resources and team to take big

of intense uncertainty and disruption caused

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many of our clients and investors to view

From an investment perspective, Q3 2020

Cardinal as a safe haven and the right partner

has been one of the most interesting times

when things got difficult. This has led to a new

for our company since the last financial

round of growth at all of our companies and

crisis. As many of you know, we are currently

strides in 2021 and beyond.

PICS OR IT DIDN’T HAPPEN F R I E N D LY F A C E S O F C A R D I N A L Want to see your photos featured? Use #WeAreCardinal when posting to social media.

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RIGHT PEOPLE, RIGHT SEAT

IN ONE OF THE MOST CHALLENGING YEARS EVER FOR EMPLOYMENT, CARDINAL WAS ABLE TO GROW OUR TEAM MEMBER COUNT BY 15%.

BY: ALEX O’BRIEN CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER

The following paragraph was included in our 2020 VISION

I wanted to highlight two ver y important points:

TOTAL TE AM MEMBERS

document that outlines the Company ’s focus for the year. As each business unit—and the Company as a whole—grows and matures,

Our Culture attracts The Right People. You cannot put the

we all agreed that we needed to focus on professionalizing the

Right People in the Right Seats if you cannot attract and retain

business. To do so, we decided we needed to continue to promote

top talent. Ever y company wants to attract amazing talent,

and empower internal leaders and continue to bring in valuable

but not ever y company can. I have continued to be absolutely

experience and skill sets from external talent.

blown away with the amount of quality people that reach out

2019: 1,324 TE AM MEMBERS SEP. 2020: 1,555 TE AM MEMBERS TOTAL NEW TE AM MEMBERS: 231

14.9%

GROWTH

and say, “I want to be a part of what you’re doing at Cardinal.”

People stay at companies that provide growth opportunities and

Cardinal does this by staying true to our focus of being a

that is the case with Cardinal. We provide each team member with

culture-first, people-centric business that provides growth

the ability to get promoted—or even transfer to an opportunity

opportunities for ever y team member.

at another Cardinal company. We will continue to be successful by hiring key people in advance of growth—not after it—and ensuring

Diverse Candidate Pools Lead to Better Hiring. The Executive

we continue to balance the team with proven, homegrown Cardinal

Leadership Team of Cardinal committed to include diverse

talent and new ideas from external prospects that desire to join a

candidate requirements in the hiring process for all Director

Cardinal Company. - VISION Goals, February 2020

and above positions. We will always pick the best candidate

2019: 1,200 TE AM MEMBERS SEP. 2020: 1,399 TE AM MEMBERS TOTAL NEW TE AM MEMBERS: 199

14.2%

GROWTH

for each position, but we committed that ever y hiring manager would at least inter view a minimum of two diverse candidates in the process. And guess what. It works! We

“ I H AV E CON T IN U E D T O BE A B S OL UTELY B LOWN

believe that diverse teams make better business decisions

AWAY WI T H T H E A M O U N T OF QUA L ITY PEOPL E TH AT

diverse candidates—gender, orientation, race, generation,

because we have seen it work. I am excited to announce that

R E AC H OU T A N D S AY “ I WA N T TO B E A PA R T OF

or multiple categories—will fill the following positions: our

W HAT YOU A RE D O IN G AT CA R DIN A L . ”

Asset Management, Director of L&D, Creative Director, VP

General Counsel, SVP of Student Housing Operations, VP of of Investor Relations, Data Director, and undoubtedly more positions in the future.

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2019: 49 TE AM MEMBERS SEP. 2020: 67 TE AM MEMBERS TOTAL NEW TE AM MEMBERS: 18

26.9% GROWTH

NOTABLE PROMOTIONS 2020

DOUG MILLER After the

WILL CONROY Earlier this year, Eddie and

strategic decision

I completed a strategic

to separate the

reorganization exercise

hospitality and

for CGM and agreed

multifamily

that we needed VP-level

parts of our

leadership to oversee and

construction

manage the increasingly

management,

complex platform of the

JOHANNA ADOLFS

Doug Miller

management business.

Jo possesses a unique skill set that seamlessly blends marketing and operations functions.

She’ll have the distinct

The role required a deep

stepped up

understanding of the

to run the

operations of Cardinal

multifamily

Group Management and

division, called

the abilit y to manage

opportunit y of being

Cardinal Group

multiple internal teams—

the Portfolio Manager of

Construction.

and Will was the perfect

Cardinal Group’s first ever

candidate for the role.

dedicated lease-up cell!

SLY BRANDON Earlier this year, CARA ATHMANN Cara has the distinct

Sly joined Will, Sean, and Rebekah

honor of being the

as Directors

first ever non-founding

of Operations

Trevor has been key to

team member to have a

for CGM. Sly is

Agency FIF T Y3’s success

C-Suite position and the

masterful at his

as a leader in the digital

first woman on Cardinal

marketing space. This

Group’s Board. Under

TREVOR BOYSON

year, we acknowledged that contribution, and Trevor was promoted to a Director position.

Cara’s leadership, we addressed a huge gap in the company ’s lack

management of strategic accounts for CGM, and he receives the

of enterprise solutions

same consistent

and unreliable data,

feedback from his

systems, and IT support.

peers and those that report to him.

Sly is a leader.

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KRISTY BRIGHT +

NOTABLE HIRES 2020

ALFREDO MEDRANO Has anyone else noticed the amazing growth of Agency FIF T Y3 in the past year? To help manage that growth, Michael, Kayla, and Sam continue to

CATHERINE STANTON Catherine will ser ve as Cardinal’s first in-house General Counsel. Catherine has worked as a law yer for the last 20 years—both for firms and as in-house Counsel.

expand the Director-level

JENNIFER CASSIDY

leadership team. They

For those that have worked

brought in two all stars

with Jennifer Cassidy in the

this year: Kristy Bright

past, then you already know—

GABE VILLA

as Director of Accounts

she is an absolute rockstar!

Gabe, originally from El Paso,

and Alfredo Medrano as

We are thrilled to bring in

T X, has been a consultant

Creative Director.

Jenn as an SVP to oversee our

helping us build the Keystone

student housing management

platform. We thought, “Hell, we

team. Jenn joins after a

might as well bring him full-

long leadership career at

time on the Cardinal Team!”

Campus Advantage and brings an unbelievable industr y reputation with her.

Gabe joins Cara and Ghanesh to help take our data platform

TRAVIS RUE

to a whole new level.

See this quarter’s Spotlight Feature to learn more about Travis Rue, EVP at The Turn

VERSIE WALLACE

Company.

PETER LYNCH

Versie is the first Director

Although Peter joined our

role fully dedicated to our

team in November of 2019, his

new Learning & Development

impact across the organization

platform. While we have focused on tactical training in the past, Versie will help the company shif t to a focus on skill development,

Carlos has been in asset

creating a culture of continuous

management for the last

learning, and ensuring our

15 years including stops at

Manager ’s have all the tools they

Campus Advantage, Virtus,

need to be successful. Versie has been a head football coach at the collegiate level and brings that coaching skill set to Cardinal.

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CARLOS GONZALEZ

ACC, and most recently with Waypoint. He currently lives in Austin, T X and is a Longhorn!

is huge. He has been on the front lines of our COVID response team and was the driving force behind the creation of our Diversity & Inclusion Council. We would not be as strong as we are today if Peter had not decided to join Cardinal Group.

COMPANY ACCOUNTS RECEIVABLE FOR Q3 CGM continued to lead the

Q3 IN REVIEW + END OF YEAR ANNUAL PLANNING

industr y in AR collections through Q3.

BY: SEAN DEVINE , GROUP 3 DIRECTOR + REBEKAH FISCHER, GROUP 2 DIRECTOR

A wise man once said about 2020 and specifically Q3, “Future historians will have to specialize in quarters of 2020 given the

1-SEP

15-SEP

30-SEP

sheer volume of history-changing events.”

That quote could not have been more true for Cardinal Group Companies in Q3 of 2020. Q3 at Cardinal saw our company continue to attack the ever-changing landscape of our world and industr y, from AR to our Student Move-In Process. Team Members around the countr y worked together to provide first-in-class customer ser vice and, through cohorts, create workflows that allowed us to not only sur vive Q3 but to exceed expectations.

STEADY RECOVERY

84.64% PRELEASE

100.00%

The graph from On this, the 204th day of March, we can finally look forward to

Keystone shows the

Q4 2020 and getting deep into the budget process. Most years,

3 Student Groups

budgeting is hard enough. Layer on COVID and a federal eviction

dropping occupancy

moratorium, and we have yet another layer of uncertainty. But

in August and

do not fret! This year, the Annual Planning process will be broken

increasing to their

down into “bite-sized” chunks so it doesn’t become overwhelming.

stabilized percentage as we round out Q3.

COVID CLIFF

03-MAR

19-APR

07-JUN

26-JUL

06-SEP

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ANNUAL PLANNING

R AT E R E C O M M E N D AT I O N S

ANNUAL MARKETING PL AN

This slide deck-style rate recommendation allows you

Have you seen the revAMPed AMP? Thank you GMMs!

to outline the general pricing strategies and the initial

Gone are the 32 pages of mind-numbing text and insert-

rate recommendations by floor plan to your client. The

eye-catching visuals to impress your client! Want to show

goal with your rate recommendations is to maximize

them just how much you know about your market? Hone in

occupancy and minimize concessions, incentives, and

on your communities top strengths and opportunities and

marketing expenses for the academic year 2021-2022.

how you will use them to your digital advantage.

ANNUAL BUSINESS PL AN

BUDGET

The ABP gives you the opportunity to tell the stor y

And last but definitely not least, this needs no explanation.

behind the numbers in the budget. Starting with the nuts and bolts, you will focus first on revenue. Where are your opportunities for growth in revenue, other income, reimbursements, etc? Then, onto expenses and capital needs. Don’t forget your extra COVID cleaning supplies!

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OUR COMMITMENT TO DEI B Y: C O L E PA N D E S ACCOUNT MANAGER

THE D IVERSITY, EQU ITY, AND INCLUSI ON T E A M HA R D AT WOR K. Since the launch of the CGC Diversity, Equity and

Workstreams include:

Inclusion Council, a team of dedicated and talented individuals from across the company have come together to set a plan in motion for a series of ongoing

Training, Education & Connection

T U R B O V O T E I N I T I AT I V E Our commitment to diversity, equity, and inclusion will also

initiatives.

Community Involvement Initiatives

Since the first meeting, the council has defined our

Policies & Processes Audit

diverse and equitable democracy. We are excited to announce

Listening & Voice Initiatives

non-profit democracy advocacy group that provides voter

vision: to provide a work environment where each person is valued for their perspectives, skills, and talents, is treated respectfully, is able to communicate openly, and is encouraged to develop to their full potential as a contributor to the success of Cardinal Group Companies and the residents and communities we serve.

We have also implemented council workstreams, which allow us to place council members in monthly project streams that cater to their skillsets.

extend beyond Cardinal as we aim to also contribute to a that Cardinal has partnered with TurboVote, a non-partisan, registration resources to participants.

Events & Celebrations Each of these workstreams consist of a few council members who have been charged with developing a 15+ month plan including immediate-action initiatives, plans for long-term implementation, and visions for continuous improvement. Keep an eye out for updates

You can head to Cardinal.TurboVote.org to sign up for election reminders, create a voting plan, and access state-by-state voter registration information and support. Don’t hesitate to spread the word to your friends, families. and networks.

Let’s get out and vote!

directly from the DEI Council soon!

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TURN.

time-frames, unreliable vendors, and inefficient processes

B Y : T R AV I S R U E

15 communities across 8 states. No small task for our first

E V P, T U R N

year out, and we will be forever grateful to the brave souls and

( just to name a few). Turn’s inaugural season had us turning

ownership groups that were willing to bet on us. The good news is deadlines were met, students successfully moved into freshly turned apartments, and invaluable lessons were learned to 2008 and 2020. Two life-altering years that will forever be

elevate our approach even more going forward. Ever y thing we

remembered by so many for all the wrong reasons. For me, 2008

could ask for in our turn debut.

and 2020 also happen to be the two years the stars aligned for me to launch two new business ventures. Go figure.

To be expected, we made some great strides forward while some maneuvering unfortunately felt predictable and

In 2008, I co-founded a company out of my father’s garage

uninventive. All part of the journey of starting a new venture

focused on the sale and distribution of reclaimed timber

and taking on such a daunting and unforgiving process as turn.

building products. Yes, in one of the biggest real estate

But we are encouraged by the foundation that was laid in such

fallouts in histor y I chose to jump into the building products

a challenging and unpredictable year with so little time to

arena. Crazy, I know. However in 2018, after a 10-year run, we

prepare.

successfully exited that business after becoming one of the largest reclaimed timber distribution companies in the countr y.

At Turn, we believe that in order to mitigate the risks inherently associated with turn and to make the process more predictable

Fast-forward to 2020. Who wants to take on the student housing

and efficient, the right systems and technology must be

turn industr y on the dawn of a world-wide pandemic? I do??

implemented alongside professional, year-round management.

Apparently I have a knack for picking difficult years to dive

We are fully committed to continuing to improve how student

in head first, because in Januar y of this crazy year, The Turn

housing turns are planned, executed, and ultimately perceived,

Company was born.

and we hope you’ll come along for the ride.

What attracted me to the turn industr y started with my desire to join Cardinal Group Companies. Having followed them for

“THE SU P PORT WE RECEIVED FROM THE TU RN COMPANY

years, I knew the culture they had created was second to none

BEFORE, D U RING AND AFTER TU RN ALLOWED U S TO

and that the support and guidance I would receive would give The Turn Company a formidable jumping off point.

Turn’s lofty goal out of the gate was to tackle the all-too-familiar challenges of the annual turn season: long hours, crunched

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FOCU S ON SIGNING LEASES AND THE HEALTH OF OU R COMMU NITY INSTEAD OF CHASING D OWN VEND ORS!” - ON-SITE COMMUNITY MANAGER

Q4 ROADMAP B Y : C A R A AT H M A N N CHIEF TECHNOLOGY OFFICER

Core Value #5: Embrace Change and New Ideas. This is the value that most comes to mind when we consider all of the important initiatives being delivered this year. The one constant is that our resident, client, and team member needs are always evolving. And as we continue to grow and scale Cardinal, there are important technology and process changes that we need to implement in order to support those changes. With all that being said, we know that results in a lot of change for our TMs to absorb, and we thank you for living our values and leaning into the new processes and solutions.

Q3 ROLLOUTS Team Member Engagement Surveys. Our first team member engagement survey was launched via Qualtrics at the end of September.

It is vitally important for us to understand where we need to focus to

HIGHLIGHTS OF Q4 PROJECTS COMING SOON Client Surveys. Engage our clients with surveys to better understand their

continue to support our team members in their careers here at Cardinal.

experience with us and identify areas

Thank you for taking the time to share your candid thoughts.

of success and improvement.

Single Sign-on. OneLogin single sign-on allows our TMs to use a single login to access our applications, making us more secure and efficient.

Over the last quarter, we added HR and benefits links, Gmail, Shared Drives, Robin, and UltiPro. SalesForce. We’ve been rolling out SalesForce as an enterprise tool to track our client touch points and opportunities. It is a tool that will help

CGM Affordable. Stand up a new platform to manage affordable communities.

CGM: Deposit Eliminator. Offer an alternative to residents who don’t want

us continue to grow, providing a 360-degree view of our clients and their

to pay a security deposit while still

interactions with the various Cardinal Group companies.

managing risk.

Keystone - Client Portal launched. Keystone is our data platform that is the go-to spot for key performance indicators and data insights

THE DAVIS TEAM

for CGM’s portfolio. In September we launched a robust client portal

CGM: Vendor management Compliance Depot. Risk management

where our clients will be able to directly access their communities’

initiative to verify vendors and ensure

performance data, increasing efficiencies and transparency as we work

compliance.

together to perform at the highest levels.

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THANK YOU

M A N AG E M E N T

www.CardinalGroup.com @CardinalGroup