Who makes up the team behind Heritage Properties? We’re kicking off our recurring blog series, “The People of Heritage Properties,” with an introduction to our new Chief Operating Officer, Mindy Diamantopoulos.
Mindy Diamantopoulos has been with Heritage Properties for almost 20 years. “Our properties are someone’s home, they’re someone’s sanctuary. There’s no Heritage Properties unless we’re thinking of our residents in that element...in their element,” she explains.
The year 2021 marked Mindy’s promotion to company COO. Since joining the team back in 2003, Mindy has been the definition of a go-getter, always looking for what else can be done for our residents and how our operations can be fine-tuned and improved. For Mindy, “we put people first” is more than just a mission statement, it’s what she lives and breathes each day. For all these reasons (and more!), we felt it was Mindy who should lead off as our first “The People of Heritage Properties” profile.
After marrying a “Lowell boy,” and moving here in 2002, Mindy was on the hunt for a new job that would offer more responsibility and an opportunity to make an impact. In 2003, she joined Heritage Properties as an Administrative Assistant. At that time Heritage Properties was small but mighty, with only four staff members working in the office. Mindy was eager to get started, ready to take on work and help wherever she could — she just wanted to stay busy. The others would remind her that, since she chose to work at Heritage Properties, she would never not be busy! The rest is history. Mindy promptly accepted the challenge, dove in, and established herself as a vital and transformative figure at Heritage, shaping the team for years to come.
As she gained more responsibility and took on overseeing more properties, Mindy learned directly from leadership including Brian Bush, the company’s President from 2001-2021. This direct mentorship was what inspired her management style. “Early on, the Heritage team invested so much of their time into me. I felt incredibly fortunate to be able to learn from the top down and see how the company was run. I aim to emulate that level of transparency and generosity every day,” Mindy says.
In her day-to-day, Mindy’s role is always evolving and changing — something that drew her to Heritage in the first place. Mindy went on to become an Assistant Property Manager in 2004, just a year after joining. She was promoted to Property Manager in 2006, Vice President in 2007, and Senior Vice President in 2012. In 2021, she was named COO. With all that change, Mindy has never wavered in her commitment to investing her own time into bettering the experiences of others — whether it’s a team member, a resident, or a trusted vendor. Throughout each role and throughout every daily interaction, Mindy makes an effort to remember her experience when she first joined Heritage and felt as though she always had someone in her corner. She explains: “I always try to ask myself — what can I do within the realm of my possibility and within the confines of my job to make sure that this person is as happy and supported as they can be?”
For someone with so much passion and dedication to helping others, an outsider might question how Mindy manages to find time in her day to inspire others to do the same. “There’s something to be said about being direct,” Mindy says. “I try to outline expectations, provide clarity when needed, but I also take a step back when I’m teaching or guiding a team member through something. It’s how I learn best — being immersed in a situation and taking the initiative to find the answer yourself. So, I allow my team the opportunity to sit in the driver’s seat themselves.”
Outside of work, Mindy loves to spend time with her friends, her husband, and her two boys. She finds her own little slice of sanctuary with a “good beach, a good massage, and a good book.” Thank you to Mindy for all that you do for our team, our tenants, and our community!