Queen of Brookfield discusses first job experience

Name: Sara Queen Title: Senior Vice President, Asset Manager Company Name: Brookfield Years in Commercial Real Estate: 20 years In the last 12 months, which project, transaction, honor or accomplishment are you most proud of and why? This year, I helped change retail in downtown Los Angeles with the opening of the revitalized FIGat7th. It had been a failing 330,000 sq. ft. three level (two levels below grade) retail center in the heart of the city. Working with a tremendous team, we re-envisioned the center to serve the growing residential population and make our nearby office buildings more attractive to tenants. We reconfigured a difficult site; "cleaned up" site lines; and upgraded the food court to a collection of chef-driven concepts. The retail offerings now include: City Target; Zara, H&M; Victoria's Secret, and Sports Chalet. The center's transformation was recognized with LA's BOMA Visionary Award. What were your biggest fears when you started out in your profession? After graduating from Wellesley, I joined MetLife. I wanted to join the Investments group, but they only took MBAs - except for Agriculture and Real Estate. Since I grew up in small-town Florida and did not want more agriculture experience, I joined real estate. This was in the midst of the real estate meltdown, where MetLife's portfolio grew significantly as a result of foreclosures. I worked for the head of real estate as his analyst; I wrote speeches, performed financial analysis, and prepared presentations. I was so busy and so "green" it never occurred to me to be intimidated by what was I doing. I knew next to nothing but I was inquisitive and wanted to learn. What was your first job and what did you learn from it? My first "paycheck" job was as the ticket/popcorn girl at the Searstown Twin in Titusville FL. I worked three+ nights a week making minimum wage. I learned the hallmarks of being a good employee: be on time; be helpful and how to deal with difficult co-workers/boss/customers. ; time management (getting homework done between shows); rule enforcement (carding for R movies); the importance of math (we had no cash register); and that perks can make a difference in your job (i.e. free movies can go a long way toward making up for sitting by yourself in a glass cube at the "bad" mall).