Jessica Mullen, Accounting Manager

I was raised in a small town called Hopkinton, which is about 25 miles west of Boston just on the edge of Central Massachusetts. In fact, Hopkinton is where the Boston Marathon begins each year! I am one of three and have two sisters.

I received my BBA in Accounting from the University of Massachusetts Amherst (UMass), which is our state’s flagship university. I began college at James Madison University in Virginia, where I went to study marketing. However, I have always had an affinity for numbers and puzzles so I soon came to realize that accounting and financial management were more of a natural fit for my interests and skillset. I remember taking Accounting 101 at James Madison and just thinking: “Accounting is my thing!” Everything just clicked and I found that my friends would come to me for help with the course. I decided to transfer to UMass because its Isenberg School of Management is known for accounting and finance. On top of that, my dad was a UMass-grad.

I had a positive experience at UMass and felt very well prepared to enter the workforce when I graduated. My first job was working in corporate auditing with Ernst & Young (EY). It was a great learning experience because it exposed me to many different aspects of business as well as different industries and sectors, so I enjoyed it. I also really loved the company’s training program and being part of an incoming cohort of new hires because we made new friendships and it was a very collegial environment. I primarily worked on our largest retail client at the time, as well as a growing biotech company. Over time, however, I came to realize that working in a large, corporate environment was not a great fit for me. I felt a little constrained and was interested in learning more about the mechanics of finance. As a result, I took a job with Commonwealth Financial Network, a boutique broker-dealer firm based in Massachusetts. I ended up working directly for the company’s founder and chairman, Joe Deitch. Joe was a great boss and mentor from whom I learned many valuable lessons, both professionally and personally. I spent most of my time working on family office investment business and I was there for close to four years before being hired by AgIS Capital in 2019.

I think when you are early in your career, it is important to cultivate mentors – people who will take an interest in you and your career. It is easy to stagnate in a job and having mentors who can help expose you to new things and open doors to new opportunities is important. That is a role that Joe Deitch has played in my career and life and there have been others like him, too – people I had as instructors at UMass and people with whom I worked at EY – and now here at AgIS Capital. The nice thing about it is that as you progress in your career, there are often opportunities to pay-back your mentors by doing things for them, which makes having those kinds of relationships more rewarding and mutually beneficial. I would also say that my Dad is a mentor, too. He is retired now, but I have always looked up to him and respect what he has accomplished personally and professionally. He grew up with a “blue collar” background and built a career around, what I like to call, his 110-percent work ethic and his willingness to take risk and demonstrate personal initiative. Because of that, my sisters and I often seek out his advice when it comes to our own careers.

When I was hired by AgIS Capital, I saw it as a unique opportunity to expand and grow in a new investment management sector. I knew very little about farmland investing and had no conception that institutional investors were major players in the space – so it was exciting and interesting to join the firm. I also really liked the fact that it was independently owned and had an entrepreneurial culture because I thought it would be a great place to learn – a place where I would be exposed to a lot of different aspects of the business and have an opportunity to take and show personal initiative – and that has turned out to be the case. I also was drawn to the job because the things AgIS Capital does felt real and tangible to me – investing in land and growing food that helps sustain us. This was appealing because I am a “foodie” at heart. I like trying new foods and recipes and experiencing new types of cuisine, so on a personal level, I found what AgIS Capital was doing very interesting.

My work day is always different. There is a cyclical quality to what I do as I am involved in client accounting and reporting each quarter. However, I spend much of my time managing clients’ trial balances and books; keeping their journals up to date; monitoring their expenses and cashflow positions; and analyzing and managing their debt facilities and interest rate exposure. I also spend much of my time improving workpapers and gathering documentation to comply with client and internal year-end audits. Additionally, I undertake special projects as needed and work very closely with our Chief Financial Officer, Carolyn Bailey, and our Vice President of Finance, Dan Eccles, both from whom I learn a great deal. Finally, I also work with our property management team and its operational accounting staff, including Bryan Filippi, who oversees asset management-level activities involving revenue generation and capital expenditures. I find that every day is different because we are dealing with new and different issues, challenges, and opportunities for our clients. That keeps things very interesting. I also find that Carolyn gives me a lot of support, but also a lot of space and flexibility to do my job, which I appreciate. She establishes needs and objectives and then does not micromanage us. I know from watching my father build a successful business that when you start one from scratch, like Carolyn did with Jeff Conrad and Ken Warlick, it can be hard to let go of the day-to-day things. However, Carolyn is great about setting priorities and then letting us take initiative and find new ways to contribute and add value to the firm and for our clients.

As I look at my career, I think the next challenge for me is to manage others. I think it is important to have that kind of experience because it helps you grow and learn. That is another compelling aspect of working with AgIS Capital. I see us growing and expanding this business and as that happens, I think there will be opportunities for those who are interested to take on new and different roles and responsibilities.

Even though I am originally from Massachusetts, I love San Diego and I love working and living on the West Coast. Not only does being in California put me closer to much of our asset management operation, it allows me to experience new cultures and to travel to areas I have not previously visited. When I am not working, I enjoy spending time with my friends, with my boyfriend and with my golden retriever, Ollie. I also enjoy going to San Diego Padres’ baseball games, on hikes and, of course, to the beach. Going home to spend time with my family and friends back East is something else to which I look forward. My parents have moved to Cape Cod, where they live on a lake and are also close to the ocean. Hanging out with them and with my sisters and brothers-in-law is one of my favorite things to do because it allows us to build memories together.