12B — May 16 - 29, 2014 — New Jersey — M id A tlantic
Real Estate Journal
www.marejournal.com
“Rising to the C-Suite”
2014 BOARD OF DIRECTORS PRESIDENT Monica Ceres, Giordano Halleran & Ciesla mceres@ghclaw.com PRESIDENT-ELECT Patricia Faulkner, NAI Global pfaulkner@naiglobal.com TREASURER Rebecca Machinga, WithumSmith+Brown, PC rmachinga@withum.com SECRETARY Lory Karakashian, PE, CME , InSite Engineering, LLC Lory@InSiteEng.net DIRECTOR-COMMUNITYSERVICE/OUTREACH TinaMarie Cortina, Liberty Elevator Corporation DIRECTOR - MEMBERSHIP Krista Korinis, Global Installation Resources, LLC kkorinis@gi-resources.com DIRECTOR - PROGRAMS Tara Carver, Esq., Giordano Halleran & Ciesla P.C. tphelancarver@ghclaw.com PR/MARKETING AND COMMUNICATIONS Susan Karp, Esq., Cole Schotz Meisel
CREW NJ holds monthly meeting at The Hilton Woodbridge WOODBRIDGE, NJ – “Know yourself, show yourself and let others know what you want for yourself.” Those were the three themes outlined by Annemarie DiCola, Esq. , CEO and executive director of Trepp, LLC , a leading provider of information, analytics and technology for the commercial real estate and financial industries. The topic of discussion was the route to the “C-suite” for professional women, and the venue was the April meeting of CREW NJ – Commercial Real Estate Women of New Jersey, at the Hilton Woodbridge. DiCola outlined her evolution from a college English major to Trepp CEO, a process that began in earnest with an internship at a law firm as a graduate student, during which she determined that she “loved real estate – I wanted to do real estate work.” The keys to her emergence, she said, were “the strength to overcome adversity, being resourceful, and the desire to be entrepreneurial.” “When you want something, tell everyone you know,” DiCola urged. “Everyone can be a resource.” She noted that as an attorney, she had a client relationship with Trepp, reached out, and eventually created the opportunity to become Trepp’s in-house counsel. “I was willing to try something different—to take a risk,” DiCola told CREW NJ mem- bers. At the time, Treppwas a small company and, as is often the case in a small company, people get tapped to do many different things. “It provided the opportunity for me to ‘raise my hand’ a lot,” she explained. After Treppwas acquired by a United Kingdom-based company in 2004, the executive changes involved provided the opportunity for DiCola to seek the CEO position, “so I put my hat in the ring,” she said. After an internal and external search, she was given the nod and in the past nine years (23 years in all with the firm) has taken Trepp to a new level. Other keys to an ascent to the C-suite, according to DiCola, include asking oneself, “Do I love what I’m doing?” It becomes a matter of self-awareness, she explained. And along the way, “develop a leadership skill—let others knowwhat youwant for yourself. Make it known that you have aspirations within your company. If you have leadership aspirations, let people in your company know.” “Now, as CEO, I am in a position to look for these signals from others—what they want to do,” she said. “At the end of the day, it is all about choice,” DiCola said. “For women in real estate, this is a good time to be working. Have a life plan,” she urged, “but be willing, adaptive and flexible if those plans change, as they did in my case.” Other keys, according to DiCola, include support in home life, which she termed, “criti- cal—being a full-time parent and executive is the most challenging thing.” Ultimately, “you have to love what you’re doing. Self-development is an ongoing process. Learning and self-knowledge is a lifelong project,” she concluded. To introduce the program, Patricia Faulkner of NAI Global and chapter president- elect, reiterated the CREWNJ mission statement: “To advance the professional develop- ment of women in commercial real estate through educational meetings and seminars, and to promote the opportunity for business growth through networking on the local, state and national levels.” On the subject of education, Faulkner welcomed graduate students of the Bloustein School of Rutgers University to the event. She also introduced Maureen Burke of the Community Food Bank of New Jersey – the subject of CREW NJ’s April philanthropy. “I want to thank you for your donations of food and money,” said Burke, who noted that the Hillside, NJ-based organization serving 18 counties moved 40.7million pounds of food in 2013. CFBNJ programs also include Kids Café, which provides a daily meal for children; a clothing program in partnership with retail stores; and Tools for School, which provides school supplies. MAY
Forman & Leonard, P.A. skarp@coleschotz.com DIRECTOR - SPECIAL EVENTS Suzanne Bonney, AIA smbonneyra@comcast.net DIRECTOR - SPONSORSHIP Jennifer Mazawey, Esq., Genova, Burns, Giantomasi & Webster jmazawey@genovaburns.com DIRECTOR - SPONSORSHIP Diane Menard, Prestige Title Agency, Inc. diane.menard@prestigetitle.net COUNSEL/ADVISOR Cheryl Hardt, CBRE Group, Inc. cheryl.hardt@cbre.com COUNSEL/ADVISOR & BY-LAWS Sheila Nall, KSS Architects snall@kssarchitects.com COUNSEL/ADVISOR Patricia Riedel, CBRE Group, Inc.
pat.riedel@cbre.com www.crewnj.org
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