2021 Women in CRE: Naoko Oguro, AECOM

Name: Naoko Oguro

Title: Associate Vice President, Principal - Interiors

Company Name: AECOM

In the past year, what project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of?
I am very proud of our young, evolving team’s agility in this trying time by shifting the work to provide technical expertise for emergency tent-hospital efforts and providing strategic insight for COVID related work while our projects went on rapid hold. Our team’s ability to switch gears to respond and provide expertise is quite special.

How do you keep your team motivated despite conflicts and obstacles?
By keeping it real. I have very little filter and I invite my team, for better or for worse, through the process I go through to manage the real hard questions and circumstances we find ourselves in. I lead by example and by having them shadow my day, I instill that they are my partners in solving the issues rather than simply drawing what I tell them to. Design was never a 9-5 job for me, and I manage to surround myself with like-minded folks of different generations that understand and have a little bit of their own crazies to continue to pursue the right options for the client to decide what’s right for them.

How do you contribute to your community or your profession?
I stay engaged in our peer community and next generation designers by providing access to our team and myself to help them see real-life application of our work to our early career peers. I’m also on the board of directors for a college to share my experience and insight as a design service provider to help shape their curriculum.

How do you advocate for your fellow women in real estate?
I make it a point to advocate women professionals in general by including and elevating all of us in discussions and opportunities in our male dominant profession. We must make up for lost time and pave the way for future women. I have a son, and I expose him to my work, by bringing him to my office since he was an infant as having work/life balance means sometimes work has to expect my life to be present as work is always in my home environment. Working from home has been difficult with a young child and being together 24/7, but I am also very thankful that I had the opportunity to show him what a woman in leadership role looks and sounds like.

What books or social media influencers would you recommend to other women?
She might not fall squarely in either category but Elizabeth Diller and her persistence and belief in herself and her ideas is very inspirational. I love love love love her work and focus on spatial experiences and blend of architecture and performance art.

Tell us a thing or two about you that is NOT on your resume or LinkedIn profile?
I really wanted to be in law enforcement or a commercial pilot until I realized I stopped growing when I hit the 5’ mark in my teenage years so that might not be a good idea and went back to pursuing my first love of planning out interior spaces.