Glass ceiling breakers

Talented real estate investors possess a mix of important attributes – the ability to discern value, the ability to manage people and assets, the ability to hold several different economic plotlines in the head at the same time, patience, diligence. The list goes on.

None of these attributes can be labelled either masculine or feminine. And yet the casual observer might not reach this conclusion when casting an eye across the leadership of today’s global real estate investment industry, which is dominated by men.

However, working with the New York- and San Francisco-based Women in Real Estate Network (WIRE), PERE has compiled a list of the 10 most influential women in private real estate investing globally today.

The women, each profiled in the July issue of PERE magazine, wield significant clout among their peers, as well as deploy significant amounts of capital. They are, as many real estate professionals questioned by PERE said, pioneering leaders in their field.

The 10 most influential women in real estate are:

Trish Barrigan
Benson Elliot Capital Management

Jamie Behar
Promark Investment Advisors

Cia Buckley
Dune Real Estate Partners

Joanne Douvas
Clerestory Capital Partners

Claudia Faust
Hawkeye Partners

Nori Gerardo Lietz
Partners Group
  
Archana Hingorani
IL&FS Investment Managers

Victoria Shigehira Sharpe
Pramerica Real Estate Investors (Asia)

Susan Lloyd-Hurwitz
LaSalle Investment Management

Marjorie Tsang    
New York State Common Retirement Fund

The Women in Real Estate Network was co-founded in January 2008 by Alexandra Hill, investor relations principal at The Blackstone Group; Larissa Herczeg, director of Morgan Creek Capital Management; Liz Madzula, GE Capital Real Estate senior asset manager and Nik Tan, senior vice president at GIC Real Estate. WIRE was created as a networking tool for female private equity real estate executives, and from an initial start of just four professionals, the group has grown to more than 500 members.