When Illinois REALTOR® Alex Ruggieri decided to expand his commercial real estate focus to the global market, he knew that getting the Certified International Property Specialist (CIPS) designation would be on his to-do list.

Ruggieri, CCIM, CIPS, CRE, is senior investment advisor for SVN- Ramshaw Real Estate in Champaign with nearly 40 years in the industry. Those professional designations aren’t just letters behind his name; they represent targeted and valuable industry training that make him more effective at his job and open doors to business.

November is National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) Designation Awareness Month and Ruggieri says the training a REALTOR® earns with designation courses can be invaluable long-term.

The CIPS course exposed him to different cultures in terms of the way real estate is viewed and the way the laws apply in different countries, but it also broadened Ruggieri’s connections with colleagues here and at the global real estate conferences he attends.

“It is a network, and it starts building the day you take the class,” he said.

Ruggieri’s investment in the international side of his real estate business was recently featured in an article in NAR’s Commercial Connections, “Global Business Starts With the Right Mindset.”

You can also learn more about the CIPS and other designations at www.nar.realtor/education/designations-and-certifications.