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Continuing the tradition Real Estate Forum established in 2013 with a special section spotlighting industry legends, we're once again profiling inductees into the Women of Influence Hall of Fame, launched last year as a follow-up to that 2013 section. Two of this year's honorees were also among the 32 industry legends whom Forum profiled in our special 20th anniversary coverage two years ago as trailblazers for other women to achieve their goals, but as with 2014's inductees, both continue to make their marks on commercial real estate.

DEBRA CAFARO
Chairman and CEO
Ventas Inc.
Chicago
Ranked 27th out of the world's 100 best-performing CEOs by Harvard Business Review  (one of only two women on the list), Debra A. Cafaro is renowned for the remarkable turnaround she managed with Ventas Inc. The company was on the verge of failure—its only tenant nearing bankruptcy—when she took the role of president and CEO in 1999 at the behest of Doug Crocker, then CEO of Equity Residential. She led a global multi-party restructuring of the tenant and reworked her own company's debt, then set Ventas on a path of growth and diversification. Today it's the largest publicly traded healthcare REIT, with a portfolio of 1,600 properties and an enterprise value of $30 billion. Turning around a struggling REIT and building it into a powerhouse was a logical path for a woman who distinguished herself early on for her willingness to take on new assignments and master new skills. Among her many accolades, Cafaro was awarded NAREIT's Edward H. Linde Leadership Award this past November. “Success can require taking intelligent risks, especially during periods of disruption, constantly delivering value and staying confident in your capabilities,” she observes.

ANN HAMBLY
Founder and CEO
1st Service Solutions
Grapevine, TX
After working for decades in the special servicing departments of several large financial institutions—including Prudential, Nomura and Bank of America—Ann Hambly became disenchanted with the treatment of CMBS borrowers when it came to refinancing their loans and distressed assets. She did something about it, founding 1st Service Solutions in 2005 to establish a niche for borrower advocacy in commercial real estate loans. “Somebody needed to level the playing field for commercial real estate owners,” Hambly said in 2013. “Not a broker, not a lawyer, not an originator, but someone who really understood the process and motives of the servicers.” Through her involvement with the Mortgage Bankers Association and other groups, Hambly has long been at the forefront of setting industry standards for commercial real estate. “In the commercial real estate industry, I have never felt disrespected, but rather encouraged in my role as a woman-owned business,” says Hambly. “Perhaps one of my greatest accomplishments will be inspiring my youngest female employees to emulate the successes I've been fortunate enough to experience.”

LAURIE LUSTIG-BOWER
Executive Vice President
CBRE
Los Angeles
Laurie Lustig-Bower trained for three years with one of the top producers at CBRE who specialized in sales of office, retail, industrial and multifamily properties. Plainly the training and mentorship paid off, because after a few years on her own she became one of the company's top producers in her own right. Today, Lustig-Bower is one of the most recognized and active investment sales producers in the region. She leads an investment sales team specializing in multifamily properties throughout the Greater Los Angeles area, and she is known as a woman of great integrity who goes above and beyond clients' expectations. Lustig-Bower is also known for her dedication to helping women excel in commercial real estate. She's a founding member of CBRE's Women's Network and has served on its board of directors for several years. She has also served for many years on the advisory board of directors for CREW's Los Angeles chapter. In both capacities, Lustig-Bower has been and continues to be a mentor and role model for women in the industry.

GOLDIE B. WOLFE MILLER
President
Millbrook Corporate Real Estate Services
Buffalo Grove, IL
With 40-plus years' tenure in commercial real estate, Goldie B. Wolfe Miller is considered a trailblazer in the industry. The first female senior vice president of the influential Rubloff & Co., she has negotiated $3 billion in transactions. In 1989, she started Goldie B. Wolfe & Co., a tenant representation firm, and developed it into the largest woman-owned CRE company in the country before selling it to NYSE-listed Insignia/ESG, which later would merge into CBRE. At present, Wolfe Miller is president of Millbrook Corporate Real Estate Services, a full-service consulting company specializing in the office and industrial marketplace. She is also the founder and a council member of the Goldie B. Wolfe Miller Women Leaders in Real Estate Initiative; a board member and the secretary of the Jack Miller Family Foundation; and a board member of the Foundation for Peripheral Neuropathy and the Jack Miller Center for Teaching America's Founding Principles and History.

CAROL ROSENTHAL
Partner
Fried, Frank, Harris, Shriver & Jacobson LLP
New York City
With a background spanning more than 25 years in transactions, zoning, land use, finance and government, Rosenthal stands out for her ability to help clients on sophisticated, complex deals involving a number of players. She brings to the table a background that encompasses transactional and regulatory experience—a dual practice that's not easily found but often sought by clients seeking counsel on complex land use projects. It includes a late-1980s stint with the New York City Department of City Planning, where she was on a team that helped develop the city's first inclusionary housing program. In 2007, she joined Fried Frank as a partner in its real estate department, and today oversees transactions that may involve up to 10 lawyers. In contrast to the early days of her career, Rosenthal now sees more projects in the industry with women at the helm and in groups of more than one. She's hopeful that progress in this area continues, given the more sophisticated discussions about the complicated nature of increasing female presence in leadership levels of the workforce.

ROSEMARY SCANLON
Dean
New York University Schack Institute of Real Estate
New York City
As Rosemary Scanlon retires this year, she looks back on a career of influence that has spanned decades. She spent nearly a quarter century at the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, including a decade as the bistate agency's chief economist. where she initiated a wide range of research programs on the region's economy, demography and economic development needs. A noted expert and scholar in the areas of urban and regional economics, Scanlon was a visiting research fellow at the London School of Economics from 1997 to 1999, where she was project director of the London-New York Economic Study, published by the Corporation of London in June 2000; and co-author of four reports on financing issues of the London Underground. She joined NYU's Schack Institute as a professor in 2000, and in 2010 she was named director of academic affairs. In 2012, Scanlon became the first female dean of a school of real estate. “Having known Rosemary for more than 20 years, I believe that NYU Schack is fortunate to have someone of such a diverse background in both the public and private sectors as its dean,” James D. Kuhn, then chairman of the Schack Institute's advisory board, said when Scanlon was named dean.

The Inaugural Class: 2014 Hall of Fame

This year's legendary women join 13 accomplished professionals who comprised the first Hall of Fame inductees. Though they were instated last year, these driven women are still making deals—and headlines—in the industry today.

Karen Bellantoni
Vice Chairman
RKF
New York City

This 30-plus year retail industry vet is a powerhouse in the commercial leasing market in New York City and nationally. Bellantoni, who closed 96,000 square feet in retail leases valued at over $51 millon in the past year, was promoted recently from EVP to vice chairman.

Faith Hope Consolo
Chairman, Retail Group
Douglas Elliman
New York City

In her 28-year career, Consolo has gone from being the only woman in the dealmaking room to holding leadership positions not only at her own firm but also in organizations like CREW Network. She and her team—comprising Douglas Elliman's most successful division—continue to redefine the Big Apple retail scene by bringing in new, innovative tenants, racking up more than $150 million in the past year alone.

Annemarie DiCola
Chief Executive Officer
Trepp Inc.
New York City

Heading up the CMBS information provider since 2005, DiCola is known for helping Trepp strengthen its foothold in the sector and expand to new markets, such as tracking US banking. Under her leadership, Trepp has acquired multiple companies and has developed a number of products aimed at capitalizing on the company's leading positions in CMBS and CRE finance. Trepp—and DiCola—continue to be viewed as leaders in the CRE finance information space.

Sharon Harper
President & CEO
Plaza Cos.
Peoria, AZ

Harper is regarded as one of the foremost experts in medical office, commercial office, senior living, research and biotechnology real estate in the Southwest. Plaza, which she co-founded in 1982, is a leading force in development, leasing and property management in several key market sectors. Yet Harper is known as much for her community service as she is in her business endeavors, propelling the local markets by helping put together important public-private partnerships.

Jean Kane
Chief Executive Officer
Welsh and Colliers International | Minneapolis-St. Paul
Minnetonka, MN

As CEO and controlling owner of one of the largest CRE firms in the Twin Cities, Kane oversees over 300 employees. On the national stage, Kane is immediate past chairman of NAIOP—the third woman in its history to hold the role—where she helped the group to embark on an aggressive and proactive strategic growth and activity plan.

Darla Longo
Vice Chairman
CBRE Group Inc.
Ontario, CA

Having joined CBRE 36 years ago, Longo became the firm's first female vice chairman in 2006, and is also the first woman to be elected to CBRE's board of directors. Longo and vice chair Barbara Emmons, with a team of 10 colleagues, continue to rack up hundreds of millions of square feet worth of industrial deals nationwide for a variety of institutional clients—to the tune of approximately $8.8 billion of transaction value this year.

Jeanne Myerson
President & CEO
The Swig Co.
San Francisco

Myerson last year retired from her role as president and CEO of Swig, which she held since '97. During her tenure, she helped guide the firm from its roots in hospitality to an investor and manager of over nine million square feet of office space nationwide. Myerson recently became a member of the board of the Boston-based Berkshire Group, and continues to work with Swig as a strategic advisor.

Daun Paris
President
Eastern Consolidated
New York City

Co-founding Eastern 34 years ago, Paris continues to live up to her reputation as one of the most influential dealmakers in New York City. She was crucial to the firm's huge growth over the past year. She helped launch the Retail Leasing and Capital Advisory Divisions, and increase the number of brokers on the company's roster from 45 to 75. The firm clocked in over $800 million in sales in Q1 2015 alone, up 60% over the same period last year—the largest sales and revenue quarter in eight years, and the second largest quarter in the firm's history. This year's sales are expected to double the $2 billion recorded in 2014.

Sonia Ransom
Partner
Allen Matkins
San Francisco

Considered an expert in her field by professionals and California officials alike, Ransom is a partner in, and former chair of, Allen Matkins' land use practice group. She not only handles multiple major development projects throughout the state, working with big names on substantial projects, but she also provides leadership for the firm's initiative to recognize the achievements of women in commercial real estate.

Darcy Stacom
Vice Chairman
CBRE Group Inc.
New York City

The “Queen of the Skyscrapers” has arranged both the largest residential and office deals in history, and she shows no signs of stopping. In the past year, she completed the sale of the Helmsley Building at for $1.2 billion, the $585-million sale of One Wall St. and the sale of a 70% stake in the 22-acre Pacific Park, the largest urban infill project in the US—among other deals that made her CBRE's No. 1 Capital Markets sales professional in 2014.

Tara Stacom
Executive Vice Chairman
Cushman & Wakefield Inc.
New York City

Tara Stacom was already a well-established force in the leasing scene even before she landed the assignment for One World Trade Center. In a 34-year career, she has consistently ranked among C&W's top-producing brokers, including top three in the New York Region and top five worldwide over the past decade. She remains just as active outside of the business world; a believer in giving back, Stacom is a founder of Lehigh University's Integrated Real Estate at Lehigh (ire@l) program.

Mary Ann Tighe
CEO, New York Tri-State
CBRE Group Inc.
New York City

Tighe is considered in many circles as the most powerful woman in New York City CRE. She's been responsible for more than 90 million feet of transactions, and her deals have anchored more than 13.7 million square feet of new construction in the New York region, a figure that's believed to be a record in brokerage. Tighe was named CBRE's overall top producer in 2014, closing over three million square feet in deals Sony Corp.'s 579,205-foot lease at 11 Madison Ave. and GroupM's 515,456-foot deal at 3 WTC.