Speed has become an expectation across real estate and project delivery. Owners and occupiers are under pressure to control costs, shorten schedules, and make confident decisions faster, while AI and other emerging tools promise to make information more accessible than ever. But faster access to information does not automatically translate into better decisions. The people interpreting that information, challenging assumptions, and taking accountability for the outcome still matter.

In this episode of Unlocking Value with Ozzie Nelson, Ozzie is joined by Romel Ragasa, Head of North America at Athena Blue Global, and NELSON New York Market Leader and Regional Practice Leader Joseph Schirripa. Drawing on Romel’s experience across architecture, construction management, owner’s representation, and project management, the conversation explores how experienced teams can use technology without losing the human relationships and judgment that keep complex projects moving.

Together, Romel and Joseph share lessons from their work together on the Empire State Building. They examine where AI has the most impact in improving project delivery, why trusted design partners accelerate approvals, and how institutional knowledge can help reduce unnecessary cost and schedule risk.

Topics discussed in this episode:

  • AI, human judgment, and faster decision-making
  • Trust, accountability, and relationships in project delivery
  • Institutional knowledge as a cost and schedule advantage
  • Testing, measuring, and managing risk before scaling
  • Operational facility design
  • Capital discipline and investing where it creates measurable value

View Asset Strategy |View all Podcasts

 

Find out more about NELSON Worldwide: https://nelsonworldwide.com/

Rate, Review, & Follow on Apple Podcasts:
We hope you’re Unlocking Value in this podcast with Ozzie Nelson. Your feedback is important to us and we’d love to hear from you.

Here’s how you can help. Scroll to the bottom, rate our podcast with five stars, and select “Write a Review.” Let us know what you found most helpful from this episode!
And if you haven’t done so already, give the podcast a follow, and you’ll be notified when new episodes come out.