Page 38 - BusinessWest July 25, 2022

work to build on its track record of success in that realm.
As for the phenomenon of remote work and what it means to office properties here and else- where, Flink said property owners and manag- ers, including Appleton, must be imaginative and open to alternative uses for those facilities, because he just doesn’t see things going back to the way they were.
“We can’t get caught up in old-school think- ing that says, ‘it’s always been this way, so it has to continue to be this way,’” using that phrase to describe both the office setting and remote work,
“We can’t get caught up in old- school thinking that says, ‘it’s always been this way, so it has to continue to be this way.’”
and how property owners should be looking to fill their spaces.
Flink brings more than 30 years of experience to his new role, a diverse résumé that includes work in Illinois, Colorado, Florida, and 10 years with O’Connell, during which he has served in various roles, including director of Capital Proj- ect Management.
He intends to tap that reservoir of experience, which includes work in construction, real-estate development, property management, and sales and leasing, while leading O’Connell to what he expects will be continued growth in an evolving,
highly competitive marketplace that is acting and reacting in response to a number of forces, every- thing from shifting dynamics in the workplace
to a still-changing retail landscape to the aging
of the population and the need for more senior housing.
He also intends to borrow from his experi- ence coaching youth football, especially when it comes to management and helping team mem- bers “understand that they’re probably even bet- ter than they think they are,” as he put it (more on that later).
“This opportunity with O’Connell gives me an opportunity to bring all that experience to bear in one location and participate in leading not only what we do Appleton, but in the larger effort that we make with our parent company,
Matt Flink says Appleton has developed a solid niche managing transportation centers, including Springfield’s Union Station.
the O’Connell Corp.,” he said. “To me, it’s the most logical place for me to land at this point in my career.”
Space Exploration
The Appleton Corp. is approaching its 50th birthday, said Flink, noting that it was launched in 1974 by the O’Connell Companies, a Holyoke fixture for more than 140 years now. The larger corporation also includes Daniel O’Connell’s Sons, a large regional general contractor; West- ern Builders; the O’Connell Development Group; and New England Fertilizer Co.
Appleton is the property- and facility-manage- ment company in what Flink called a “vertically integrated stack.” Appleton manages commer- cial properties, industrial buildings, warehouses,
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