Kaitlin McCarthy

“Come in with a learning mindset and try different roles. It’s the best way to find what you like and where you thrive.”

WomenWhoBuild, meet Kaitlin McCarthy,

Kaitlin is the founder and CEO of Ionic Development Company. Prior to starting her own firm, Kaitlin worked for a variety of real estate disciplines include Turner on the engineering side, The Boston Consulting Group in management consulting, and The HYM Investment Group on the project management side. Kaitlin holds a Bachelor in Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and an MBA from Harvard Business School.

ArchNative sat down with Kaitlin to discuss her journey in development, how working in a variety of disciplines prepared her for starting her own firm, and her advice for young students entering the field.

Tell us a little bit about yourself and your journey in development. What led you to pursue it as a career?

As a kid growing up, I loved drawing buildings and landscapes. This led to an interest in architecture in high school. I then had a high school teacher ask me if I had thought about engineering. I never had but she thought I might really like it. She nominated me to go to an Engineering Camp at UCONN where I studied each discipline of engineering. This is where I became interested in Civil Engineering as it touched the whole built environment. Through the co-op program at Northeastern University, I found that I enjoyed Construction Management because it was very team oriented and gave you a view of the whole project. After graduating, I worked for Turner Construction in several capacities. This cemented my interest in the built environment, but I wanted to be earlier on in the decision-making process (why a building was being built, what drove the design, etc.) which led me to want to move over to the development side.

You received your Bachelor of Civil Engineering from Northeastern University and your Master of Business Administration from Harvard. What would you say were skills which you had learned in school that you still utilize today? In a search for your first job out of college, what was the main thing you looked for in a company?

I use skills from each every day. My engineering background helps me to understand complex issues, problem solve with the team, and translate these issues to various stakeholders involved. It also helps me to understand the major risks on a project and how they can (or can’t) be mitigated. During my MBA, I built out skills in finance, strategy, marketing, and operations. These come into play when thinking about the vision of a project, whether it makes sense financially, organizing a process, and of course, the nuts and bolts of running my own business.

“Each role has introduced me to a new set of stakeholders in the process. At this point I have worked closely on the full spectrum of a real estate development project... It helps to understand the full spectrum of players involved and what they are interested in. ”

I did my last co-op at Northeastern with Turner Construction so I had the luxury of knowing them already when they offered a full time job. I liked that they were working on large, interesting projects, had a structured program that rotated new hires through different roles, a great reputation for training, and awesome people.

Your career is rather diverse. You had spent 4 years with Turner on the Engineering side, 1 year in management consulting at The Boston Consulting Group, and 5 years with HYM Investment Group on the project management side. How did this shape your career?

Each role has introduced me to a new set of stakeholders in the process. At this point I have worked closely on the full spectrum of a real estate development project, from working with subcontractors daily to working with investors daily. It helps to understand the full spectrum of players involved and what they are interested in. BCG was valuable in that I learned how to take a chaotic or messy issue, create a framework to problem solve in a structured way, and present the results to very high level leadership teams. This has taught me how to synthesize information in a way that’s important and impactful to the audience which allows me to provide value to all involved.

What gave you the initial push to start your own company? What do you see as the vision for Ionic Development Company?

I wanted to see more female owned developers in Boston. The pandemic made me (along with a lot of people) think about what impact I wanted to have and I really feel like I can make a difference in this space. My vision is that Ionic grows to be a major developer in Boston working on large mixed-use projects and that it is a name that people think about when they think of who the big developers in Boston are.

How do you approach each project you work on?

When I start a project, I like to spend a lot of time listening and learning. Learning the project and the risks; listening to where the team is finding issues or has ideas. Then, I make order from what can be a chaotic process and move the team forward.

What does your day to day look like?

Sourcing deals, pursuing projects, and exploring markets are taking up the majority of my time. Additionally, I am fortunate to be consulting on a major mixed-use development project in the city of Boston.

What is one piece of advice you have for young students entering the field?

Come in with a learning mindset and try different roles. It’s the best way to find what you like and where you thrive. This was also where the co-op program at Northeastern was so valuable – it allowed me to try different roles and start to home in on what I liked. Each one will give you a different point of view that will prove valuable later (even if you don’t know how yet!)