Coming up in the industry, Carly Tripp – now Global Chief Investment Officer and Head of Nuveen Real Estate Investments – was often one of the only women in the room. She remembers being highly focused on delivering impeccable work; she was always putting her hand up and asking for more responsibility. 

"Grit is so incredibly important, regardless of gender," Tripp says. Taking initiative and resiliency are also key: "If I get knocked down, I will get up every single time," she says. "I will always win that battle. And when you're starting out in the business, you can sometimes focus too much on the noise. You let things distract you. At the end of the day, you're in control of how resilient you are and how you show up." 

Tripp firmly believes leaders must be focused on developing their teams professionally – and said "a lot of transition needs to occur at the executive level within this industry to change our mindset to be more culturally inclusive."