SitusAMC Power Pro: Fawzat Trabilsy 

Name: Fawzat Trabilsy  
Title: Analyst in Asset Management for Deutsche Bank CRE at Hanover Street Capital  
Office: NYC  

Day-to-day: We wear different hats every day, but in the most basic terms we assist with managing and accommodating requests on behalf of Deutsche Bank’s CRE loan platform. We help manage their portfolios by serving as the “middleman” between Deutsche Bank and their borrowers and ensure all requests and day-to-day operation within the loan falls in compliance to the loan agreement.   

Highlight of your job: I love the unpredictability of everyday tasks and working with such a great and supportive team. Every day has a new task and there isn’t always one approach to get the same result, so it’s nice to be able to hear different approaches and learn new things every day.   

Best advice: 1) Don’t burn your candle at both ends. 2) Think twice before you leap. Despite this last one being such a cliché, it has helped me many times to remember to take a step back and carefully consider all possible outcomes. Funnily enough, both pieces of advice came from my dad!  

Biggest career success: Back when I was a consultant, I helped cater to fashion retail clients and worked with them to expand their businesses. It was incredibly rewarding to help designers who I’d always loved open their brick-and-mortar stores, including a store at Rockefeller Center. Another career highlight was a project I did for CPEX brokerage real estate company. My project was featured in the New York Post and Commercial Observer for essentially breaking new ground in how we research properties. I led a team of 50 interns to help me canvass an entire borough.   

Pivotal moment that shaped how you think about work: There was a point in my life, pre-COVID, when my career was my entire life, and I became so exhausted from work, I stopped doing basic things like cooking or going out. One day I was touring potential real estate retail spaces with a high-end fashion client and just I blanked on important metrics my boss was demanding in the moment. It was the most embarrassing work event I’ve ever had! I realized my brain was overstimulated and I needed to work better at managing my work/life balance! Since then, I am so much happier and more fully integrated into all aspects of my life. I’ve never looked back.  

First job: My first job ever was an internship at Empire State Development under Governor Patterson. What I liked about it was that they treated me like an adult, not like the kid that I really was! I was around 13 years old. I even had to get a special working card due to child labor laws. I got the internship through a youth employment program. And there wasn’t a thing I didn’t like about it!  

Inspiration: I had many idols growing up, but one that shaped my adolescence until my early adult years was the lead singer of my favorite band, Rancid. I started playing guitar because of that band. Their lyrics made me see the world so differently. Specifically, I learned political realities about the world that I never would have learned in school. I’ve been to over 50 Rancid live shows. I’m really influenced by many of Rancid’s lyrics, written by their lead singer Tim Armstrong, who had a lot of personal ups and downs.  

Advice to the younger you: First, slow down. Give yourself a break. It’s impossible to be perfect and you’ll hurt yourself trying. Try to be present and remember that not everyone has it all figured out. Your mental and physical health is the most important thing in your life, because without it you can’t do anything.  

Greatest strength: I can befriend anyone, and they’ll be telling me their life story in five minutes. I am genuine and sociable with every single person I meet, whether that’s a janitor or a CEO. I am truly curious about other people and want to get to know them.   

Downtime: I go to a lot of live music concerts and shows. I also love to play guitar. I had a side business as a stylist since I’ve always wanted to do fashion. I now cycle a lot and that has been life changing. Also, coming from a Middle Eastern background, I cook Arab-centric food at home quite a bit. I want to keep that part of my culture alive to pass on to future generations.