NEW YORK CITY-New Yorkers are “always witnessing history”--and industry veteran Mary Ann Tighe, CEO of CB Richard Ellis’ New York Tri-State Region, is still making it happen. After 26 years in the real estate business, Tighe received the Urban Leadership Award from the NYU Schack Institute of Real Estate at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel on Wednesday evening, making her the first woman in the 41-year history of the award to be honored.
“This is particularly special for me now because I feel more and more engaged by our industry and the city’s civic affairs,” Tighe said, who has served as CEO of CBRE’s New York Tri-State Region since 2002. “Real estate is the true New York hometown business. Our industry supplies the fuel for this city. We generate nearly half of all the tax revenues that are collected here. But our skyline is not just a metaphor for the aspirations of our city, but it is what keeps New York running. Many of our city’s best and brightest try their trade in our business.”
Welcoming Tighe to the stage was Larry Silverstein, president and CEO of Silverstein Properties Inc., who described her as the “quintessential” professional. “Look what’s she’s done,” Silverstein said, noting her involvement with the revitalization if Times Square, the westward expansion of Midtown’s central business district and the rebirth of Lower Manhattan post-9/11. “If you talk about the transformation of New York’s skyline, no one has been more responsible for that.”
Throughout her career, Tighe has been responsible for more than 77 million square feet of commercial transactions and her deals have anchored more than 6.2 million square feet of new construction, which Silverstein called “a record” for commercial brokerage. She also just secured the landmark one-million-square-foot Conde Nast deal at One World Trade Center, symbolizing a turning point for Downtown’s 10-year rebuilding process. “Transformational is the word,” Silverstein said. “The enormous impact that it has on everything we’ve been trying to accomplish is the validation of all this time, effort and energy we’ve spent to recreate the World Trade Center.” He added, “She’s best, without question. She’s at the top of her game.”
Among her many achievements, Tighe is the first woman in the Real Estate Board of New York’s 114-year history to serve as chairman and the first broker in 30 years. She is also six-time winner of the Ingenious Deal of the Year Awards and REBNY’s Bernard H. Mendik Lifetime Achievement Award. She is also devoted to various nonprofit and cultural causes, such as Uniting Against Lung Cancer, the Inner-City Scholarship Fund, the Partnership for New York City and serving on the council for The Metropolitan Museum of Art.
Reflecting on her career, Tighe said she has been “an ace” at picking customers and partners in her work. “Above all else, that has been my gift," she said. "I have the finest colleagues and continue to have them. It is a privilege for me to work in this industry and to serve alongside so many people who are dedicated to this great city that we love.”
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