her commission when a landlord told her he couldn’t
pay it because he lowered the rent to bring on the ten-
ant. Stafford told him no and thought the matter was
settled—until she discovered the tenant had leased the
place through the landlord. Long story short, she says:
“I sued everybody and I won.”
For all the headaches, Stafford loves commercial leas-
ing. “It’s not an easy business and it can be harder
because I am female and this world is male dominated
and because I am Black. To succeed you have to be smart
and tough. You can be nice too—but smart and tough
come first.”
NEVER MAKE ASSUMPTIONS
At its heart, CRE is very relational in nature, says CBRE’s
Brandon, who was named a Women of Influence in
2017. It is also a white male dominated industry, she says,
which means men and women of color have to reach out
to be included. “Inclusion is a right not a privilege,” she
says. And it also behooves the organization to be inclu-
sive as well. “If we are engaging through creativity and
collaboration, business results become so much more
dimensional.”
CBRE offers many opportunities for people of color
to advance through its ranks including through its
African American Network Group, she says.
The network launched in 2004, started by four profes-
sionals in the New York area, she says. “It was predomi-
nantly concentrated on brokers and sales but it has now
grown into 900 professionals. “Our vision really is to
advance diversity and inclusion as a core value that ben-
efits not just CBRE but our clients and community,”
Brandon says.
When she began her career, though, her opportunities were usually of her own making. With one companyshe was the only Black team member for a number ofyears, becoming leader of the team within six years. “Itwas not until I was team leader that I was able to makehiring decisions and then the team became ethnicallydiverse,” she says.
The CBRE FHA team wishes congratulations to our own Ann Cone and the rest of our CBREcolleagues who have been recognized in Real Estate Forum’s “Women of Influence” edition. Weare proud of our people who, through innovation and dedication to our clients, continue to set thehighest standards for the industry.
CONGRATULATIONSANN CONE
Finance Executive
VALERIE ACHTEMEIER
Broker/Intermediary - Debt &
Equity Finance
MINDY LISSNER
Broker - Landlord/
Agency Representation
CATHY DELCOCO
Broker - TenantRepresentation
DAMLA GERHART
CRE Consultant/Advisor
LAURIE
LUSTIG-BOWER
Broker - Investment Sales
SARAH V. JONES
Property/FacilityManager
CATHY
THURINGER
Development
Professional
DAVIS GRIFFIN
Development
Professional
MEREDITH LAPIER
Broker - TenantRepresentation
