Adrian D'Enrico
Subject: Geography BSc, GIS Masters
Graduated: 2002
Place of work: Henley FM
Position: Fund Manager
What made you choose to study geography at the University?
I've always been interested in the world around me and, growing up, spent a lot of time outdoors and up in the hills of North Wales and Northern Italy. School gave me a taster of the processes involved in shaping that environment and it was a natural progression to take this further at university.
What skills did you acquire during this time?
University offered the opportunity to move beyond the secondary school 'listen and repeat' learning process to have the independence to research and question pretty much anything. That freedom and lack of direction took me a while to come to terms with – you can find yourself following your nose and ending up discovering all sorts of wonderful but not particularly useful things!
In that regard it encouraged a bit of discipline and I learnt how to stick to deadlines and to plan my workload – whilst I still end up doing many things right at the last minute, there is some order in the chaos.
What are your fondest memories from your time at the school?
Field trips - there's only so much you can learn in a lecture theatre or a library! The experiences we were offered, from sailing trips to the Isle of Mull and Byzantine mine surveys in Liguria, were great from both a social but also educational perspective – you get to see the theory put into practice.
The real world doesn't always pay too much attention to theory – understanding that and adapting your goals and methods to still get the required results is a valuable lesson.
Where are you working now and what does the role involve?
I run a long-income property fund which is focussed on buying homes for use as supported living accommodation, giving long-term, modified homes to vulnerable adults (including individuals with learning disabilities and mental health issues). The fund has over 300 properties across the UK and we're continuing to grow the portfolio.
With a small team we do everything from acquiring the properties, overseeing the modification and refurbishment works, and then liaising with the Registered Providers (Housing Associations) which operate the properties for the next 25+ years.
It's a rapidly evolving sector and it’s a challenge to manage so many moving parts – it might not harness my understanding of glacial landscapes on a day-to-day basis, but the fundamentals of geography, people and place, sit behind every decision we make.
What advice would you give to someone considering following a similar career path?
My career path has been diverse – ranging from civil engineering to retail and then through property strategy into direct property investment – and it might not be the easiest to follow! I don't regret taking any of those roles or to have moved between sectors – actually, I find it helps. I have a broad range of experience and a proven track record of learning new skills – my key piece of advice is just to embrace challenges with an open mind and learn what you can from each role and opportunity.
Traditional career advice told me I should find a sector and stick to it – I never knew what I wanted to be and I still don't – and that's no bad thing. There are similarities and ways you can apply those skills in every sector, so just get stuck in.
As for property, it combines most geographers' fascination with people and place and it’s not all desk based, which helps with your sanity!