2018 Women In Real Estate, Professional Services: Annemarie DiCola, Trepp

Name: Annemarie DiCola

Title: CEO

Company Name: Trepp

Real estate association / organization affiliation(s): Commercial Real Estate Finance Council (CREFC)

What are some of your biggest accomplishments in the last 12 months?

In the last year, I have focused our team on scaling and growing our business into complementary and adjacent markets. We are launching a CLO product that will provide clients a competitive advantage over other products and we have expanded our CRE finance capabilities to help lenders with default and CECL modeling. We relocated our offices to a more modern and creative office space that is better suited for collaborative project teams. I stepped into the CREFC chair role in June and will be focusing on facilitating a long term strategic plan to benefit members.

What blogs, resources, podcasts or influencers have helped you?

As a data analytics company, we produce our own research and blogs for market participants–so for many reasons Trepp is the first source that I turn to for analysis and information. In addition, I look to CREFC legislative publications and a number of news portals like Commercial Real Estate Direct and Commercial Observer. Many of our clients produce and share their own research and analysis which I use as well. I also find that social channels such as LinkedIn influencers are a key source for insights and information. 

How important is it for women to create a personal brand?

It is extremely important that everyone creates a personal brand–and perhaps more so for woman, as they look to close the wage gap, get picked for high profile projects, and get noticed for promotions. It’s not enough to think that your work can speak for itself. Doing so leaves your narrative in the hand of others. Each of us needs to take control of our story and ensure that people know what our true talents are. Focus on the things that make you a unique asset–what do people need to know about you and what you do well.

What do you do like to do for fun?

Spend as much time dining with my romantic husband (who is also helping me improve my golf game) and connecting with our adult sons and lovely daughter-in-law.

In one word, describe yourself: 

Passionate

How many messages are in your inbox right now and how do you manage email?

Too many to count, but thanks to the resourceful efforts of my chief of staff, I have revamped my approach to emails. Rather than letting my inbox dictate my schedule, we have employed many tools to direct certain types of non-urgent emails to designated folders so that I can review them at more appropriate times. The net impact of using these tools has allowed me to focus on important matters in real time, and less important matters in down time.