Q&A: Five minutes with Iain Holden, chief executive of TSK Group

How did you join the property industry?

My route into the industry wasn’t traditional, as I initially started my career in advertising and office furniture sales. However, this actually proved to be the perfect training ground for understanding client needs, the power of relationships and great communication.

What does your job entail?

I’m responsible for shaping the vision, culture and direction of TSK’s growth and evolution. That means ensuring we have the right team, protecting what makes us different in the market and making the calls that keep us moving forward. A couple of years ago, we became employee-owned, giving our team a genuine stake in the business, a stronger voice and a share in its success.

What do you like most about the industry?

The people and the fast-paced nature of our niche. Every project is different, every client brings new challenges and opportunities and the landscape is continually changing. How we design and construct spaces to support and enhance workforce productivity and experience is an ever-evolving picture – and that is super exciting.

And what do you dislike most about it?

One frustrating element is the pitching and procurement process, which can be unnecessarily cumbersome. All too often there is an ask to neutralise bids and pitches, which removes all the personality, relationships and value-add required to make a project stand out.

What is your favourite building?

The Flatiron Building in New York, mainly because of the imagination and ingenuity it took to turn a ‘useless’ tiny plot of land into such an iconic structure. I have always referred to it as my favourite office building, but that is about to change with its conversion to luxury residential apartments. I’m interested to see the evolution and its next lease of life.

Who in property has inspired you?

Andrew Burns, my co-founder. Not because he was a property expert – admittedly neither of us were when we bought the business at 25 and 28 respectively – but because of his energy and unfaltering belief that we would deliver phenomenal value for our clients.

He showed me that genuine relationships, doing exactly what we said we’d do and backing our people completely were powerful. Our partnership shaped how we built the business and what we stood for. Andrew has now retired, but his influence endures every day for me.

If you were not in property, what would you be doing?

Unfortunately, it’s too late for a pivot to become a professional footballer or motor-racing driver, so I’d likely be in advertising and marketing. It’s where I cut my teeth and it still holds a place in my heart.

What are you most proud of in your career?

Building a team that is trusted by some of the world’s leading organisations to make their workplaces better for their people, which means not just delivering projects but genuinely improving how people experience work. Doing it in a way that has created more than 100 careers, and not just a business, has been a really crucial focus for me.

What do you value in people?

Drive, curiosity and humility. I like people who show up wanting to learn, who aren’t afraid to ask ‘why?’ and who can be brilliant without needing to tell everyone about it.

What advice would you give someone starting a career in the property industry?

Nothing worth having comes easy. It is essential to show up, ask questions and do more than is asked for. It is then that opportunities will appear, and that’s the time to grab them and repeat.