The second edition of Getting to Know Who’s NEXT features Tamara Brisk, CEO and Founder of Mokki.

Mokki is a tenant-engagement and sustainability solution for Real Estate and occupiers. Mokki deploys a perennial software and logistics solution that allows building users to resell, donate and recycle their clothing and electronics. Mokki sorts (with inclusive labor,) traces every object to its final destination and reports the environmental and social impact to both enterprise and end users. Mokki is based in Paris and is opening in New York City in 2024. Tamara is convinced that business can and should be a force for good. She is particularly excited about solutions that allow more people access to opportunity, resources and goods.

Tamara was previously Managing Director of WiredScore France, Head of Sales at Freckle Education and Consultant in the PE Group at Bain and Company.  She holds an AB in Political Science from University of Chicago and an MBA from Northwestern’s Kellogg School of Management.

She is a Global Governing Trustee for ULI and also sits on the ULI Europe NEXT Executive Committee.

In the following Q&A, Tamara explores her passion for the commercial real estate industry and her experiences with ULI.

Q1. ULI: So many of us in real estate fall into the industry and hence commercial real estate professional organisations. How did you get involved with ULI?

In 2016, WiredScore hired me to launch their continental European business.  I was alone on the continent and wanted to build a network.  My WiredScore colleague Aaron Meyerson was very active with ULI in New York, and he recommended I join as a Young Leader in Paris. The Young Leaders in Paris defied the French reputation for being aloof and welcomed me with open arms.

Q2. ULI: What is the most interesting project you’ve worked on over your career in real estate?

I am working on Mokki’s international launch right now.  It is stimulating and challenging to research and imagine the nuances in different cultures and populations to adapt our offer! Mokki needs to be recognisably and consistently the same quality everywhere but feel “native” everywhere we serve.

Q3. ULI: What challenges do you face at this point in your career?

Mokki is currently both a startup and a scale-up but those business stages require different leadership styles and skills.  I need to be the same intrepid leader that has allowed us to be inventive and agile while also simultaneously structuring the business to scale for the long term.

Q4. ULI: What are you most excited about regarding the industry’s future?

For all of the benefits of the digital revolution, many of its changes have resulted in people feeling less connected and even isolated.  Buildings are the exception and refuge from this phenomenon. They concentrate in-person interactions.  There is inestimable value in imagining buildings as the primary platform for human connection.

Q5. ULI: ULI: What are you currently reading/watching? 

I just finished watching Nobody Wants This.  It is light but so clever and moving.  I can’t wait for the next season.

Check out the past Getting to know who’s NEXT articles here.