WOMEN
OF INFLUENCE
2015’S
It’s become clear by now in the business community that the benefits of having a fully diversified manage-
ment team are indispensible for any business. In commercial real estate, women have long busted down
the doors of the “Old Boys’ Club” and are quickly filling up top decision-making positions. It may take
some more time to achieve full parity, but this year’s roster of powerful female CRE professionals are proof
positive that women are thriving in the business, and are paving the way for generations to come. Chosen
from a pool of over 350 highly qualified nominees, the individuals on the following pages truly exemplify
success in their fields. Read on for 2015’s Commercial Real Estate Women of Influence.—Kristian Seemeyer
LESLIE ANDREN
Chief Investment Officer
Atlas Residential USA
Chicago
Photo: Melissa Song Photography
Leslie Andren runs acquisitions, dispositions
and asset management for Atlas, which owns
more than 18,000 apartment units nationally.
She has been part of the company’s five-year
push to build new properties in the UK with
partners; the first JV deal was inked this year. Andren also led the
team to buy a $160-million, two-asset, value-add portfolio in Orlando
from Equity Residential, which closed in October 2014. Additionally,
Andren bought another 11-asset, $260-million apartment portfolio
in December 2013 that was the largest loan assumption ever completed by HUD. Between December 2013 and December 2014, she
racked up $420 million in apartment acquisitions.
LAURIE BAKER
Senior Vice President
Camden Property Trust
Houston
As SVP of fund and asset management for
Camden Property Trust, Laurie Baker is
responsible for the creation, marketing and
administration of Camden’s first investment
funds, which have more than $1 billion in
assets. She also is active in the market with a new fund that has
approximately $450 million in total investment capacity. In late
2014, Baker effectively executed a restructuring of the REIT’s
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funds, increasing ownership from 20% to 31.3% as a result of
value created by Camden within those funds. In addition, the
maturity dates of the funds were extended by approximately
eight years, providing Camden with enhanced JV income through
2026. The 22 communities owned by the funds comprise nearly
7,300 apartment homes in 10 markets. Outside of Camden,
Baker is also the 2015 president-elect of the CREW Network.
NIKKI BALDONIERI-VASCO
Managing Director
QuietStream Financial
Charlotte, NC
In her 20-year career, Nikki Baldonieri-Vasco
has used her expertise in structured finance to
help real estate and operating company owners raise capital. She was instrumental in the
creation of risk-based pricing for CMBS as
head of CRE pricing at First Union Securities (now Wells Fargo) in
the late 1990s. She was promoted to run structured finance for all
asset classes including consumer, CDOs, non-agency mortgage,
transportation and other esoterics. Baldonieri has spent the past
year as managing director of QuietStream Financial and CIO of
FullCapitalStack, its wholly owned subsidiary. She oversees investments, structuring and institutional investors for the company. On
how the industry has changed, Baldonieri-Vasco says: “Though
there remains a gap in leadership roles between men and women
in real estate, those lines are becoming increasingly more blurred.
Where in the past women found success only as residential agents,
they are now occupying influential positions.”
