Chief Information Officer and
SVP, Strategic Services
Camden Property Trust
Houston
Having been promoted from her previous
post as vice president of technology,
Simonette is responsible for information
technology, marketing and Camden’s Contact
Center, which captures missed lead opportunities through phone calls and emails. In the past year alone, she
has helped to launch new mobile-optimized websites designed
for the iPhone, Blackberry, Droid, Palm Pre and other mobile-device users. She has also centralized the accounts payable
department and merged the company’s IT department, Contact
Center, Business Support Center and marketing department
into one unified department now called Strategic Services.
“Technology changes at mach speed, and that affects the way we
do business,” she observes. “Successful individuals and organizations will position themselves to react quickly and efficiently as
customers’ demands change.”
CHRISTIE SMITH
Director, Project Management
CM Partners Group
Diamond Bar, CA
Smith founded CM Partners, a construction
and project management firm, amid a difficult economic environment for the industry. Through the downturn, the firm managed to attract several new clients and projects,
and revenues are expected to more than double
last year’s results. “Due to the poor economy and lower profit
margins, clients require more and better information prior to
making critical real estate decisions,” says Smith. “Women are
increasingly breaking through this industry and are changing
long-held perceptions by providing the expertise and service
that clients require.”
JULIE SMITH
President
Bozzuto Management Co.
Greenbelt, MD
As president of Bozzuto Management Co.,
Smith oversees a portfolio that includes
30,000 units in 100 communities throughout the Mid-Atlantic and Northeast regions.
Under her leadership, BMC has grown from
an organization with just 15 employees to more
than 800 and has increased its portfolio by an average of 15%
per year. Over the past year, Smith grew total revenue by 20%
and upped NOI by 55%. She also shares her knowledge with
the industry’s next generation of leadership by serving as an
adjunct professor in the masters program in real estate development at the University of Maryland’s School of Architecture.
Smith is a longtime board member of Victory Housing, a nonprofit developer and operator of affordable housing for seniors
and working families. “We are seeing increasing use of technology in all aspects of property operations,” she says. “We use
mobile applications for marketing apartments, iPads in our
presentations and social networking sites to interact and keep
everyone informed.”
ANN SPERLING
Chief Operating Officer, Americas
Jones Lang LaSalle
Chicago
As the newly appointed COO for the
Americas, Sperling is responsible for the
financial performance of JLL’s Americas
business and integrating the overall platform of market teams and business lines, as
well as the performance of the business represented by a workforce of 12,000 located throughout seven
countries. One of Sperling’s most significant achievements
over the past 12 months has been transitioning into her role at
Jones Lang LaSalle. When not traveling—she has already hit
three continents and 15 states—Sperling spends much of her
time working on an action plan to implement the firm’s strategy. She has also been focusing on the strategic investments
that will fuel growth, specifically in the capital markets, industrial and retail businesses and in key geographic markets in the
US, Canada and Latin America.
DARCY STACOM
Vice Chairman
CB Richard Ellis
New York City
Co-head of CBRE’s investment properties
institutional group in New York City,
Stacom arranged $639 million worth of
office, multifamily, hotel and other investment property sales in 2009, earning recognition as the company’s investment sales professional of the year. The year was highlighted by the $150-million
sale of AIG’s office buildings at 72 Wall St. and 70 Pine St. to a
partnership of Youngwoo & Associates and Korea-based Kumho
Investment Bank. Since 2003, Stacom’s advisory and sales
transactions have exceeded $40.4 billion for office and $26 billion for residential, mainly in New York City.
DEBORAH STONE
Assistant Vice President, Marketing and Leasing
Hartz Mountain Industries Inc.
Secaucus, NJ
Stone has been a fixture at Hartz for the
past 26 years, having started as an assistant
in 1984 and working her way up to assistant
vice president of leasing and marketing. She
is now responsible for leasing Hartz’ retail
portfolio and has been part of the repositioning
of its Harmon Meadow development in Secaucus, NJ. This
includes signing leases with TJ Maxx, PetSmart, Sports Authority,
HomeGoods, Marshalls, Toy & Babies ’R Us, Chili’s, Chipotle,
Cosi’s and Bonefish Grill. She was recently given leasing responsibility for New Jersey office buildings in Ridgewood, Hackensack
and Secaucus. During her career, Stone has seen women entering the real estate industry in greater numbers and in more significant leadership roles. “All women in our industry can
achieve considerable success through career role models like
Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of the New York Tri-State Region for CB
Richard Ellis,” she relates.
