It’s impossible to have a con-versation 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 be-cause it is, to her) and has closed deals that seem to be shaping not only the city’s landscape but the development of whole neighbor-hoods in Manhattan.
Ms. Tighe is a seven-time win-ner 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 forc-es 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 ex-perienced 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
Mary Ann Tighe, CBREPresident, Tristate Area
46 | DECEMBER 11, 2012 | THE COMMERCIAL OBSERVER
Deborah RomanoCBRE
Senior Project Manager Year joined: 2000
Clients include American Express and Morgan Stanley.
Ahouva RubinsteinMurray Hill Properties
Sales and Leasing BrokerYear joined: 1999
Fluent in English and Hebrew and conversant in German and
French.
Amy RoseRose Associates
Co-PresidentYear joined: 1989
Co-heads the firm, which manag-es over 27,000 apartments.
Nancy RuddyCetraRuddy
Founding PrincipalYear joined: 1987
Clients include Extell Development, Tishman-Speyer
Properties, Vornado Realty Trust and Columbia University.
Beth RosenRKF
Managing DirectorYear joined: 2001
National tenants include Carlo Pazolini, Madewell, Oakley, Tumi,
J.Crew, Monika Chiang, Diesel, Free People and Anthropologie.
Ellen RudinCBRE
Managing DirectorYear joined: 2006
Head of CBRE’s Long Island and outer borough operations.
Shannon RzeznikiewiczJones Lang LaSalle
Vice PresidentYear joined: 2009
Clients include Interupublic Group of Companies, ADP Inc.
and Ipsos NA.
Rosemary ScanlonNYU Schack Institute of Real
EstateDivisional Dean
Year joined: 2000Named Divisional Dean of NYU
Schack Institute of Real Estate in 2012.
Kara Schechter-RakowskiBelkin Burden Wenig & Goldman
LLPPartner
Year joined: 1991Specializes in property develop-
ment and demolition.
Janelle RovegnoCBRE
Assistant Real Estate Manager Year joined: 2006
Clients include Kate Spade, Coty Inc. and Artisanal Fromagerie &
Bistro.
Jennifer Ruschways2design
PresidentYear joined: 2001
Works in various fields of design such as residential, hospitality,
retail and commercial.
Lori Samet SchwarzZetlin & De Chiara LLP
PartnerYear joined: 2003
Represents architects, engineers, construction managers, sure-
ties and developers in a variety of construction-related matters.
Karen ScannaStroock & Stroock & Lavan LLP
Partner, Real EstateYear joined: 1996
Helped Silverstein Properties in the 2001 acquisition and financ-
ing of the World Trade Center.
Amber SchneiderNewmark Grubb Knight Frank
DirectorYear joined: 2012
Specializes in facility real estate planning and design.
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