Bay Area Power Women: 5 Questions With Stanford Real Estate's Tiffany Griego

This limited series profiles Bay Area Power Women who have helped shaped Bay Area cities, neighborhoods, businesses and lifestyles. These women will be honored in San Francisco on May 30. 

Stanford Real Estate Managing Director of Asset Management Tiffany Griego oversees investment and management of the university’s real estate assets on founding grant lands. She has over 15 years of experience in commercial and residential real estate investment and development and has spent the bulk of her career at Stanford, where she also received a bachelor’s degree and MBA.

Bisnow: How do you describe your job to people who are not in the industry?

Griego: At the helm of the Stanford Research Park enterprise, akin to its CEO, I lead strategic planning, real estate entitlements and development and management of this world-renowned R&D business park, Stanford University’s preeminent real estate asset and Silicon Valley’s single largest real estate portfolio, valued at $12B.

Bisnow: What is the biggest business problem you have faced and how did you solve it? 

Griego: In addition to the typical challenges that come with market cycles and spikes in vacancy rates, as well as the difficulties in securing entitlements in a strong anti-commercial-growth city, our city asked us to dramatically reduce traffic congestion. I have hired an expert in transportation programming, Jamie Jarvis, whose efforts have produced tangible results in reducing the number of commuter trips to and from Stanford Research Park. This problem of regional traffic congestion has yet to be solved, but through hiring an excellent and highly strategic team member, and trusting her to deploy her talents and creativity, I have helped the Stanford Research Park take significant steps to reducing local and regional congestion.

Bisnow: What is one thing you think companies can do to address wage and gender inequality?

Griego: Identify your up-and-coming rising-star successors in your organization and reward them for their loyalty and ability to rise up to a leadership level. Without showing future leaders they have a path to the top, they may leave you!

Bisnow: What piece of advice do you give others entering the industry?

Griego: Each year of my career in real estate I have dug into a new learning opportunity, a new experience, a new blind spot. My advice to others entering real estate is to embrace learning, listening and open-mindedness. Set aside time to meet others in our field and network. Because there is so much to learn in real estate, I firmly believe the more people you meet, the faster your learning curve can ramp up. And we can’t learn new things without tapping into our resources, including our networks.

Bisnow: What do you do to unwind when you’re not working?  

Griego: Long, challenging hikes — my absolute favorite being Torres del Paine in Chile.

Meet Stanford Real Estate Managing Director of Asset Management Tiffany Griego at Bisnow’s Power Women event in San Francisco May 30.