New Executive – Kim Mogull: Trump has Broker Fired Up

Published April 18, 2004

CRAIN’S SMALL BUSINESS REPORT: PHYSICIANS ADD SPAS TO PRACTICES PAGES 21-27 W. XX. No. IS wv»wc**nsny.coni Workplace: Depression not treated Page 13 Apnl 12-18.2004 IYicc:$3.W NEW YORK BUSINESS PROFILES New Executive: Kim Mogull Trump has broker fired up KIM MOGUL COMPANY Moj Inc. New Jersey in a station wagon and made them TITLE PreskJerr AGE 38 RESUME 17years asa For years, she kept taped to her computer some choice advice from a fortune cookie: " ‘As long as you’re going to be thinking anyway, think big/— Donald Trump." Mr. Trumps oft ice first called late last uimmer and asked to meet with Ms. Mogull to talk about retail leasing. Since winning Mr. Trump as a client, sl*e lias convinced him to focus a bit less on flashv ten- Manhattan broker MISSION To find the tenants best suited to Donald Trump’s Trump Plaza and 40 Wall St. PEAKING FROM F.XPERI- cncc, Kim Mogull has some boardroom advice Donald Trump's chosen apprentice. Ms. Mo-newly appointed exclusive broker for Trump Plaza and 40 Will St., says his new sidekick should stay focused, defend his or her ideas and not waste Mr. Trumps time. He fires his questions quickly, but he wants thoughtful answers. "Whenever I sit with him, its like injecting caffeine in my veins," she says. While Mr.Trump has been serenading contenders with his gravelly delivery of the phrase "You're fired" on NBC’s hit The A this 38-year-old broker is now working as a real-life apprentice, finding tenants for 75,000 square feet of retail space. Her story, a 17-year tale of working her way up through Manhattan's real estate Real estate pro mixes charm and chutzpah to lease retail space for The Donald BY CHRISTINE IIAUGIINKY world, is a more prolonged and realistic portrayal of the path to 'Irumps executive offices. "We love Kim and think she docs a great job," says Mr. Trump. A mogul's Mogull In /tpprtrntus-Speak, Ms. Mogull has I leidi’s chutzpah, Amy’s grace and Carolyns business instincts. I ler personal life is filled with anecdotes of befriending assorted New York souls. A cab driver asked to write to her after driving her from Sol lo to 86th Street. Waiters once left tables available around her until they could seat the most attractive men nearby. By the time business deals arc signed, most clients call her their friends. Her instincts and connections haw helped Ms. Mogull find many tenants for the meatpacking district, including designers Henry Bcguelin, who took space in the Hotel Ganscvoort, and Catherine Malandrino, who is located across the street. Ms. Mogull is the exclusive broker for the Scoop clothing store chain, and major Times Square landlord Sherwood Equities Inc. just hired her as a consultant. "She's very aggressive," says Jeffrey Katz, chairman of Sherwood Equities. “At the same time, she’s very charming and she gets what the deal is about." The road to an association with Mr. Trump started in childhood, when Ms. Mogull teethed on a lease, she jokes. Following her parent's divorce, her father, a clock salesman, brought her to trade sltows; she learned from his selling skills and later went on to peddle costume jewelry to her elementary school classmates. Ms. Mogull’* mother, a commercial broker, dragged her and her two brotlnrrs around tKY and write down available real estate sites. From the get-go While at Northwestern University, Ms. Mogull was a top salesperson for Encyclopaedia Britannica, selling sets at state fairs in the Midwest. After college, she started out as a Coldwcll Banker broker, renting out space for the Sigcty family at 1760Third Ave., between East 96th and East 97th streets. ants and more on those that will pay the highest rents—though she notes that he will always be interested in attracting trendy tenants. Ms. Mogull has learned how to turn his frown into a doting grin: Show him a picture of his properties, which he gazes at like grandchildren, she says. But she hasn't had much time to get caught up in the frenzy surrounding Mr. Trump's show. Her hours arc so long that she t\picallv watches Tbt AppraUuc in reruns. ■