It takes a love of the industry—and extra effort—to spearhead a woman-owned firm to become among the leaders in commercial real estate. In the case of a brokerage firm and a law firm, it took a couple of past Bisnow Power Women winners who had to find a way to balance family and work: Stephanie Friese Aron and Penelope Cheroff, who will be among the Leaders in Commercial Real Estate sharing their stories at our event next week.
Stephanie (here), founding partner with Pursley Friese Torgrimson, grew her firm from a solo practice to having 11 other attorneys on staff, first expanding by partnering with legendary CRE lawyer Charles Pursley and Christian Torgrimson in 2013 and then bringing on other big partners—Doug Dillard and Julie Sellers—last year to diversify and increase the type of law work in which the firm engages.
“I also am proud of having created a flexible work environment where parents can bring their children to work,” Stephanie says. “I believe this is the key to a fulfilling life when we serve dual roles of being a professional and a parent.”
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For Penelope, retail brokerage was her answer to wanting to work in the retail industry, “but not work retail hours,” since she was a single mother.
She debuted in the industry with the late, storied firm Arthur Rubloff in its retail and restaurants practice group, eventually building a client base that allowed her to launch her own firm in 1996, and quickly become a mainstay in Atlanta's retail brokerage scene. The Kingfisher, OK, native tells us retail is so transitory that it's hard to see beyond the current year.
“There are no five-year plans anymore, and even a one-year plan needs to evolve constantly,” she says. “Right now, it looks like 2017 will be a great year for me.”
Hear more from Penelope and Stephanie along with Atlanta Commercial Board of Realtors CEO Kristin Lamb, Leapley Construction CEO Meredith Leapley, JLL's Kay Younglove, Colliers International's Jodi Selvey, Franklin Street's Monetha Cobb and Cumberland CID executive director Malaika Rivers (here) 7:30am, Tuesday, Dec. 13, at the Southern Exchange at 200 Peachtree St. Register here.
