Two-thirds (66 percent) of real estate professionals predict a big jump in demand for board-level chief technology officers (CTOs) in the sector over the next five years as the challenge to find senior talent to leverage disruptive technology increases.
Intertrust, a global leader in providing expert administrative services to clients operating and investing in the international business environment, surveyed over 500 executives covering the asset management, corporate, capital markets and private wealth sectors to identify the impact that disruptive technology is having on jobs and skills in the sector.
Approximately 44 percent of real estate professionals believe that by 2023 most firms in their sector will have hired CTOs with a mandate to drive strategic change, particularly by harnessing the benefits of technologies such as artificial intelligence (AI), blockchain and robotics. A further 22 percent expect that a minority of firms will have done so.
The study highlighted the growing challenges faced by organizations exposed to a technology skills gap; more than a third (38 percent) of real estate professionals admitted that just keeping up to date with the latest technology innovations was a challenge. The biggest skills shortages are in data analytics (57 percent), followed by artificial intelligence (36 percent), regtech and compliance (32 percent) and blockchain (32 percent).
Despite their predictions, the study revealed a lack of urgency to secure senior level talent; only a fifth (19 percent) of real estate industry decision-makers said their firm is currently recruiting for a CTO-level role and upskilling existing staff to capitalize on emerging technologies. A further 26 percent said their firm doesn’t currently recognize the need to recruit technology leaders or invest in new training. Approximately 22 percent said that their organizations were finding it challenging to recruit tech talent, highlighting the difficulties in attracting candidates with the appropriate skill sets.
“There is little doubt that we will see more CTOs emerge within the real estate investment sector with a clear mandate to drive transformational change,” said Jon Barratt, head of real estate, Intertrust. “With many firms struggling to keep up with the latest developments in emerging technologies let alone seek a competitive advantage, the question will increasingly become when, rather than whether, to make new senior hires to devise the right strategy and implementation program.
“Firms delaying their investment in appointing new CTOs with influence at the top table, or not doing so at all, risk losing out on the best candidates and falling behind their peers,” added Barratt. “Given the competition for technology leaders from other sectors outside real estate, the necessary skills, particularly in high-demand areas such as AI, regtech and compliance are not always in ready supply. With the gulf in performance between digital leaders and laggards growing rapidly, firms can’t afford to be too complacent about their place in the technology revolution.”
