Tony Nichols — Senior Chairman Emeritus of Brandywine Realty Trust

Tony Nichols, is the Senior Chairman Emeritus of Brandywine Realty Trust, a firm that grew out of a company Tony founded in 1982. He is one of the founding members of Applebrook Golf Club, has served on the board of Fox Chase Bank, St. Joseph's University and currently serves on the West Catholic Board, his alma mater. On this episode, Tony shares more about his 50 year  career, the challenges and obstacles he faced along the way and how he overcame them. From his first job to the Chesco-Nichols Group to Brandywine, Tony shares the lessons he's learned and the insights he has gleaned over the years. Tune in to find out more.   Key Takeaways: [1:31] Kevin introduces his guest for this episode — Tony Nichols. [2:09] Kevin does a speed round with Tony. [2:43] Tony shares a little bit more about his time at West Catholic. [4:04] Tony discusses his experience with going to college as night school. [5:45] Tony's first job was with Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS), and he also spent some time with the Marines. [7:32] What prompted Tony's move from PSFS to Colonial Mortgage Company? [9:32] What was the market like in the '70s? [15:24] How important was Colonial to PNB? [16:44] Tony explains how he and Bob Chesco got together to start their company. [26:02] How closely did Tony follow his business plan? [30:26] How did Chesco-Nichols evolve through the years, over time? [35:00] What was Tony's interaction with Pete Musser from Safeguard Scientific? [37:25] What brought about the next stage in Tony's business journey to go public? [41:20] Tony talks about some of the other key players in his business journey. [46:35] What was the scale of the projects Tony took on at that time? [47:11] What was the state of the industry when Tony went public? [51:34] What was the strategy at Brandywine? [55:11] Tony and Kevin discuss some of the big projects from Brandywine right now. [1:05:22] Did Tony have any regrets about going public? [1:08:13] What kind of leader is Tony? He shares more about his leadership style and how it had changed over the years. [1:13:33] Who were some major influences in Tony's life? [1:20:39] What is Tony's opinion on whether entrepreneurs are born or made?   Links: Cross Properties Tony Nichols Brandywine Realty Trust The Nichols Company Applebrook Golf Club Fox Chase Bank St. Joseph's University West Catholic Preparatory High School Jefferson University Philadelphia Savings Fund Society (PSFS) Safeguard Scientifics Liberty Property Trust