Mary Ann Tighe, CBRE President, Tristate Area It’s impossible to have a conversation about the greatest New York commercial brokers in the business without talking about Mary Ann Tighe. The Real Estate Board of New York chairwoman has made the art of the complex negotiation look easy (maybe because it is, to her) and has closed deals that seem to be shaping not only the city’s landscape but the development of whole neighborhoods in Manhattan. Ms. Tighe is a seven-time winner of the Real Estate Board of New York’s Deal of the Year award, and has received REBNY’s Louis Smadbeck Memorial Broker Recognition Award, the Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Achievement Award and the Schack Institute of Real Estate’s Urban Leadership Award—which she was the first woman to receive. Recent large deals include her representation of Condé Nast in its move to 1 World Trade Center, and retailer Coach as it takes on anchor-tenant status in the new
Hudson Yards development in Midtown West. According to Ms. Tighe, the industry is significantly more gender-neutral than it was even 10 years ago. “I’m hardly ever in a meeting anymore where I am the only woman in the room.” That rarely happened when she began, over 27 years ago, she added. As more female figures in the real estate market become major forces in the industry, it will become a more gender-blind business world, she explained. “The curve is moving in the right direction.” Ms. Tighe considers herself a mentor, hoping to give less experienced brokers the benefit of her knowledge. “I learn from them as well,” she said. The CBRE CEO counts other CBRE brokers such as Lauren Crowley-Coronet, Ramneek Rikhy and Joan Meixner as pupils of sorts, among many others. A business that rewards merit, commercial real estate allows its practitioners to watch the city
grow and develop while working with companies in all industries, Ms. Tighe explained. “This is a business that touches all of it.” —Karsten Strauss
Deborah Romano CBRE Senior Project Manager Year joined: 2000 Clients include American Express and Morgan Stanley.
Ahouva Rubinstein Murray Hill Properties Sales and Leasing Broker Year joined: 1999 Fluent in English and Hebrew and conversant in German and French.
Amy Rose Rose Associates Co-President Year joined: 1989 Co-heads the firm, which manages over 27,000 apartments.
Nancy Ruddy CetraRuddy Founding Principal Year joined: 1987 Clients include Extell Development, Tishman-Speyer Properties, Vornado Realty Trust and Columbia University.
Beth Rosen RKF Managing Director Year joined: 2001 National tenants include Carlo Pazolini, Madewell, Oakley, Tumi, J.Crew, Monika Chiang, Diesel, Free People and Anthropologie.
Ellen Rudin CBRE Managing Director Year joined: 2006 Head of CBRE’s Long Island and outer borough operations.
Shannon Rzeznikiewicz Jones Lang LaSalle Vice President Year joined: 2009 Clients include Interupublic Group of Companies, ADP Inc. and Ipsos NA.
Rosemary Scanlon NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate Divisional Dean Year joined: 2000 Named Divisional Dean of NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate in 2012.
Kara Schechter-Rakowski Belkin Burden Wenig & Goldman LLP Partner Year joined: 1991 Specializes in property development and demolition.
Janelle Rovegno CBRE Assistant Real Estate Manager Year joined: 2006 Clients include Kate Spade, Coty Inc. and Artisanal Fromagerie & Bistro.
Jennifer Rusch ways2design President Year joined: 2001 Works in various fields of design such as residential, hospitality, retail and commercial.
Lori Samet Schwarz Zetlin & De Chiara LLP Partner Year joined: 2003 Represents architects, engineers, construction managers, sureties and developers in a variety of construction-related matters.
Karen Scanna Stroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP Partner, Real Estate Year joined: 1996 Helped Silverstein Properties in the 2001 acquisition and financing of the World Trade Center.
Amber Schneider Newmark Grubb Knight Frank Director Year joined: 2012 Specializes in facility real estate planning and design.
46 | DECEMBER 11, 2012 | THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER