MIAMI—Danet Linares, vice chairman of Blanca Commercial Real Estate, is the now the chair of the Greater Miami Chamber of Commerce's New World Center Committee. The committee aims to strengthen the Downtown Miami business community's voice by engaging decision makers at the local, state and federal level—and by recruiting new members to the committee.

Linares, who also serves on the board of the Miami Downtown Development Authority, will work with vice chair Tadd Schwartz, founder of Schwartz Media Strategies, to support the organization's mission. Specifically, the duo will lead the charge to spur further revitalization of Greater Downtown Miami by making the city's waterfront more accessible to the public and improving street-level conditions.

“It is an honor to be elected as chair of a committee that has been helping Downtown Miami and its residents for so many years,” says Linares. “I look forward to working with our members to advance downtown's emergence as one of the world's most dynamic urban districts.”  

Since joining Blanca in 2009, Linares has been involved in many of the company's most significant transactions. She has also been a key contributor to Downtown Miami's growth.

For example, Linares helped spearhead the leasing for 1450 Brickell office tower in the Brickell Financial District and was a key part of the team that represented law firm White & Case's lease renewal in Downtown Miami. Linares also advised and worked on behalf of numerous tenants and owners at properties across Miami-Dade.

Heavily engaged in the business and civic community, Linares also serves on the boards of Habitat for Humanity of Greater Miami. She is past president of CREW-Miami (Commercial Real Estate Women).

Linares has received her fair share of industry accolades, including being named as an “Influential Businesswoman” and “Commercial Real Estate Heavy Hitter” by the South Florida Business Journal and a CoStar “Top Power Broker.” She was also the recipient of NAIOP's 2012 Office Lease Transaction of the Year Award, and was named as a finalist for the organization's 2013 Office Broker of the Year Award.