Habib O. Lawal on Building a Career Across Business and Real Estate

Habib O. Lawal has built his career by moving between different worlds without losing sight of what connects them. Engineering, technology, product management, real estate, and business development may look separate on paper, but for Lawal, they all come back to the same idea: understanding a problem, building a plan, and following through.

Today, Lawal works as a Product Manager at Accenture while also developing his interests in real estate, business strategy, and professional networking. His path has not followed a single straight line. Instead, it has been shaped by change, responsibility, and a willingness to learn new industries.

“I have always been very business-oriented,” Lawal says. “Even when I had a regular job, I was always thinking about what else I could build, what I could learn, and where the next opportunity might come from.”

How Habib O. Lawal’s early life shaped his business mindset

Lawal came to the United States in 2009, during a difficult economic period for many families. His parents had experienced foreclosure after tenants stopped paying rent on a property they owned. Without enough information about the options available to them, the family eventually had to start over.

For Lawal, that experience left a lasting impression.

“I saw what can happen when people own property but do not have the information or support they need when something goes wrong,” he says. “That stayed with me.”

After arriving in the U.S., Lawal grew up in North Providence, Rhode Island. Sports became an important part of his routine. In high school, he competed at the varsity level in soccer, singles tennis, and wrestling.

The mix of individual and team sports taught him different kinds of discipline. Wrestling and tennis required personal accountability, while soccer required communication and trust.

“You learn quickly that effort matters, but preparation matters too,” Lawal says. “That is something I still carry into work and business.”

From electrical engineering to technology and product management

Lawal attended the University of Rhode Island, where he earned a Bachelor of Science in Electrical Engineering. He later returned to complete a master’s degree in Cybersecurity.

After college, he considered an opportunity with a major Navy contractor working around submarines. He ultimately chose another direction and joined Fidelity Investments through its LEAP program.

The program brought college graduates into a structured training environment before placing them in different offices around the country. Lawal was eventually assigned to Jersey City, New Jersey.

That move became an important turning point.

“I did not have some grand plan to build my life in New Jersey,” he says. “It started with a job placement, and then one opportunity led to another.”

Lawal remained with Fidelity for nearly five years. During that time, he gained experience working within a large organisation while continuing to think about entrepreneurship outside of work.

After leaving Fidelity, he spent time exploring a networking business and opportunities connected to government contracting. Not every idea developed immediately, but the experience gave him more insight into how difficult it can be to build something independently.

In March 2022, Lawal joined Accenture, where he currently works as a Product Manager.

Why Habib O. Lawal entered real estate development

While building his corporate career, Lawal began investing in real estate in 2019. His interest was partly practical, but it was also connected to what he had seen in his family growing up.

Over time, investing developed into a broader interest in real estate development and community improvement.

“I like the idea of taking something that is underused or overlooked and figuring out how it can become more valuable to the people around it,” he says.

His work has included development connected with a city, an experience that strengthened his interest in working with municipalities. He sees local development as an area where business goals and community needs can overlap when projects are approached carefully.

For Lawal, real estate is not simply about acquiring property. He is interested in the planning, relationships, and long-term thinking behind development.

“Cities have needs, developers have ideas, and residents want to see their communities improve,” he says. “The challenge is finding a way to bring those pieces together.”

Why networking has become part of his business strategy

Alongside real estate, Lawal continues to develop a networking business built around professional relationships and collaboration.

He believes many business opportunities start long before a formal deal or project exists. They often begin with a conversation, an introduction, or someone remembering who can solve a particular problem.

“Relationships are a major part of business,” Lawal says. “You can have a strong idea, but if nobody knows what you do or trusts you enough to work with you, it can be difficult to move forward.”

His interest in networking also reflects the variety of environments he has worked in. From engineering and cybersecurity to financial services, consulting, and real estate, Lawal has seen how different industries often depend on the same basic skills: communication, problem-solving, reliability, and follow-through.

Building a career without staying in one lane

Lawal’s career shows how professional growth can come from combining skills rather than staying inside one narrow category.

His engineering education gave him a technical foundation. His years in large organisations taught him how structured businesses operate. His real estate work introduced him to development, ownership, and local partnerships. His networking interests pushed him to think more deeply about relationships and business development.

“I do not really separate everything into different boxes,” he says. “To me, it is all part of building.”

Outside of work, Lawal still makes time for sports, including soccer, tennis, and golf, while also prioritising time with his wife and family.

The different parts of his career continue to evolve, but the pattern remains consistent. He looks for problems worth solving, learns what he needs to understand, and then works on turning the idea into something practical.

That approach has allowed Lawal to build a career that is still developing across several industries, without losing the discipline that shaped him from the beginning.