help them generate project leads. Quote: “Internet technology
will continue to serve as the equalizing force, allowing professionals even at small, regional firms to compete for business
nationally and globally. Real estate firms and professionals will
increasingly rely on technology for creating business opportunities outside of their traditional, local markets, through managed
online presence and professional online networking.”
MICHELE MAHL
Vice President
Eastdil Secured
Mahl is in charge of marketing and soliciting
new business for single asset and portfolio hotel
transactions to domestic and international investors. Since joining Eastdil Secured in 2002,
she has completed over $17 billion in hospital-
ity transactions. Quote: “As a contrast to the economic slowdown, there has been an acceleration in the changing role of
women in the industry. There were very few women in the real
estate industry, particularly at a young age, when I started at
Eastdil in 2002. However, there are now many more women entering the industry at a younger age and those who have been
established are taking on more senior roles.”
MICHELE MEDAGLIA
President and CEO
ACC Construction Corp.
In the past year, Medaglia—who took the reins
of this family-owned business at age 24—
reorganized the senior management team at ACC, She
added a vice president, named a new director of
operations and formalized the creation of a
marketing department. Among ACC’s projects in the past 12
months was completing the build-out of Tiffany & Co.’s 11,000-sf
store at 37 Wall St. Quote: “We predict that even as the city and
the economy slows, that the trends we see in construction and
real estate, specifically the incorporation of women into the
trades and unions and seeing more women in senior management, will continue.”
MELANIE MEYERS
Partner
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
Meyers’ practice focuses on real estate development, specializing in land use, environmental
review, zoning, public approvals and private/
public partnerships. Her projects range from
Manhattan (West Side Yards) to Brooklyn (At-
lantic Yards) to Queens (Jamaica Court House) for clients including Related Cos., Forest City Ratner, the Dermott Co.,
Jamestown Properties and the New York Yankees. Quote: “I believe that there will be an increasing emphasis, begun under the
Bloomberg administration, on linking zoning to controls to
various public infrastructure and social needs, such as afford-
able housing, transit infrastructure and open space. The challenge for the developer and the land use practitioners will be
addressing these needs so that their goals are achieved along
with the economic growth of the city.”
KIM MOGULL
President and CEO
Mogull Realty
A 21-year veteran of commercial real estate, Mogull founded Mogull Realty in 2003 and was instrumental in bringing retail to the Meatpacking
District and, more recently, the Bowery. Earlier
this year, she was named one of the industry’s
top 40 movers and shakers by the New York Post, and also contributed a chapter to Donald Trump’s book The Best Real Estate Advice I Ever Received. Quote: “Bank consolidation will open up
retail spaces creating an increased supply for limited demand.
Prior to the credit crunch, banks were the dominant takers of
prime space. The new focus for banks will be to eliminate excess
branches. This will create opportunities for retailers facing renewals—and heretofore priced out of the premier spots—to
trade up to these corners.”
DAUN PARIS
President
Eastern Consolidated
Under Paris’ guidance, Eastern has grown into a
full-service real estate investment sales company.
Over the previous 12 months, she oversaw the
expansion of Eastern’s brokerage team and
training program, resulting in an increase in rev-
enues to $4.6 billion in 2008, up significantly from $2.9 billion in
the year before. Quote: “There has been an 180-degree shift in
the market since a year ago when capital was plentiful, resulting
in a disconnect between sellers’ expectations of pricing and pricing the market will bear. Until sellers adjust their expectations to
be more in line with lenders and equity sources, closing transactions will continue to be difficult. But there is sufficient equity for
certain asset categories, such as rent stabilized apartment buildings and retail properties in top locations.”
JOANNE PODELL
Executive Director, Retail Services Group
Cushman & Wakefield
Podell specializes in both tenant and landlord
representation, and negotiates lease transactions throughout Manhattan. She chairs the
Real Estate Board of New York’s retail stores
committee, and she became the first female ex-
ecutive director in C&W’s retail group in 2007. Quote: “The
retail brokerage community will be called upon more and more
to provide multiple services on behalf of its clients. Most of these
services are non-traditional, and differ from the way retail brokerage has been viewed in the past. These services include stra-
