Lyons of Rhodes Associates speaks at 5th Annual Real Estate Women’s Forum

Jane Lyons, Rhodes Associates

New York, NY At the 5^th Annual Real Estate Women’s Forum, held February 25, at the New Yorker Hotel, attendees were advised to “think women” when considering commercial real estate, historically dominated by men.

Jane Lyons, managing partner of Rhodes Associates and 2015 co-president, Commercial Real Estate Women (CREW), New York spoke to attendees about breaking through real estate’s brick and mortar ceiling. According to Lyons, there are five basic rules for breaking through:

1. Throw gender aside;

2. Think of yourself as a catalyst, as opposed to class or gender;

3. Don’t follow conventional rules – make your own;

4. Work smarter – not harder;

5.  Cede nothing to someone just because they have a “Mr.” in front of their name.

“Women have an unprecedented opportunity to define “their” game –that requires recruiting the right team to accomplish it,” said Lyons.

During her more than 25-year career in executive search and organizational consulting, Lyons has completed more than 700 search and consulting assignments, specializing in the real estate industry, globally. She has assisted many of the world’s leading real estate companies including banking, commercial lending, investment, and private and public owner/developers in recruiting their most successful executives.

“God bless the legions of courageous women in business that preceded each generation – it is our imperative to continue to lift those professional women behind us,” said Lyons.

The 5^th Annual Real Estate Women’s Forum focuses on the unique challenges faced by women who are the heads of their organizations, yet are leading the charge—despite those challenges--in an array of real estate markets as diverse as the players themselves. From residential to retail, from commercial to industrial, the conference provided opportunities to learn from the women who take the leading roles, innovating and shattering stereotypes in every corner of the industry.

With speakers that included the presidents, CEOs, chairwomen, and founders of some of New York’s top real estate companies, attendees heard what moves these women made to play key roles, how they’ve advanced their careers and their companies, and what keeps the decision makers up at night.