Downtime with Adam Tyler


Photo: Jason E. Kaplan
Adam Tyler, president of Killian Pacific

Killian Pacific’s president enjoys the solitude of the wilderness. 

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What I am reading

I’m preparing for a photography trip to the mountains of British Columbia, where I will have the opportunity to decompress in solitude for five days. In preparation, I’m reading Walden, by Thoreau (a classic), and The Best American Science and Nature Writing, edited by Sy Montgomery, to embrace the beauty and importance of being at one with nature.

IT4A2163Photo: Jason E. Kaplan

Must-have gadget

I appreciate a glass of red wine from time to time, so my must-have gadget is a corkscrew.

What I am watching

We are watching the first season of Broadchurch on Netflix. Unlike most murder mysteries or crime dramas, it’s very well acted and not overly cheesy. A good indulgence. For a good laugh, we turn to The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel (season 4 cannot come fast enough).

What I do outside of work

Most recently I’ve become interested in wildlife photography, which merges my loves of travel and the outdoors. It started a few years ago, when we stumbled across a puma on a hike in Costa Rica. It was one of the most exhilarating travel experiences that I can remember.

Since then, I’ve been building and honing my photography skills so that I am prepared to capture the perfect moment when encountering wildlife in their natural habitat. Since the first puma encounter, I’ve been fortunate to observe and photograph eight different species of cats in the wild.

Favorite family tradition

It’s not exactly tradition, but one of the simple things in life that I enjoy most is our routine dog walks. On weekend mornings, my partner and I walk our dog to a favorite local coffee shop (Case Study Coffee) to get coffee and reflect on the week.

Rain or shine, this has become a favorite routine that I look forward to every weekend.

What I draw inspiration from

Individuals who are unapologetic advocates of positive social change. Greta Thunberg, despite her young age, has brought significant international awareness and activism to the very important issue of climate change.

Her ability to inspire positive change is incredible. I think we all have something to learn from her unwavering determination to do something good in this world.

Favorite place to vacation

As an introvert, I seek travel opportunities to recharge with as much solitude as possible. My favorite vacation spots are deep in a jungle, on a remote mountainside or perhaps a quiet beach. Being immersed in an unspoiled natural environment is both grounding and inspiring.

Fondest memory of growing up

I grew up in rural Kansas, so it was not exactly fast paced or action packed. My fondest memory is spending time at a local lake with my family on summer weekends. My grandparents owned an old, temperamental ski boat, and on days when the boat would cooperate, we would have a great time water-skiing.

When the boat would not cooperate, we still had a pretty good time persuading other local boaters to tow us back to shore. There weren’t many alternatives, so it didn’t really matter if the boat was running or not, we had fun either way.

The biggest disruptor coming to the commercial real estate sector

While technology will be a primary disruptor, a secondary disruptor will be the impacts of climate change.

As severe weather patterns intensify, this will inevitably have several implications, such as changes in human migration patterns, policy changes, property insurance changes and, ultimately, implications to commercial real estate valuation.


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