Commercial real estate is making significant strides towards increasing inclusivity, with 54% of women holding mid-level and senior positions. However, it remains an uphill battle to secure executive roles, with only 9% of C-suite positions held by women.

This disparity is slowly closing because organizations like the Commercial Real Estate Women Network, or CREW, are helping to create more opportunities to advance women in CRE.

Bisnow is also doing its part to recognize trendsetters who have made an indelible mark in CRE.

On Oct. 8, Bisnow’s New York Power Women event at 120 Broadway will bring together female leaders of prominent CRE companies in New York City. These professionals are helping lead the way for the next generation of women to follow.

Register here for tickets to the event.

Lisa Bevacqua, executive managing director of CBRE’s investor portfolio management team and an honoree at the Power Women event, emphasized the importance of persisting even when others may not share the vision.

“One of the lessons I've learned in CRE is to trust your gut and go after what you want,” she said.

Bevacqua spoke with Bisnow about some of her accomplishments in CRE and advised on how women can level up in this industry.

Bisnow: What initially drew you to CRE, and how did this lead to becoming more active on the investment side?

Bevacqua: After college, I lived in Boston and worked at Accenture. At that time, Boston's South End was undergoing this intense revitalization, and I was fascinated by how real estate could transform a place, drive business and attract people to live, work and play.

I couldn't stop thinking about real estate's impact, so I left Accenture and got my foot in the door at CB Richard Ellis Whittier Partners in Boston, doing office leasing.

While leasing helped me learn the fundamentals, it wasn't until I was in a meeting with the developer and the capital partner on an office development my team was hired to lease that I realized I wanted to be on their side of the table. So I left CB and got my MBA at Wharton, and started working in acquisitions and asset management for a real estate private equity fund, fueling my passion for asset management.

Bisnow: What events have helped shape your career?

Bevacqua: A real estate industry mentor at Wharton told me I would never get a job doing acquisitions for a real estate private equity fund without investment banking experience. That only fueled my determination.  In job interviews, I highlighted my unique background and different perspective, which ultimately got me the job I wanted.

After a few years, I was offered an asset manager role at Silverstein Properties.  My boss started the asset management platform a few months before, so it was amazing to support that effort.  After a year, he left, and overnight, I went from managing two high-rise office buildings to stepping in to lead and grow a relatively new department and manage an office and residential portfolio worth over $10B. I worked extremely hard to prove myself to leadership, investors, my team and my peers, who had decades more experience than I did. I didn’t just hold things together — I added value for stakeholders, advanced departmental and corporate initiatives, and broke down cross-departmental silos, which positively impacted culture and morale.  Due to all my hard work and collaborative approach, I was ultimately offered the head of asset management role.

Another career milestone at Silverstein came in 2016 when shifting demographics made me realize the office experience would need to change to continue to attract and retain tenants. I launched a new initiative called Inspire, which focused on amenities and the tenant experience to drive value for tenants and investors. Silverstein was one of the first companies to embrace this, and it provided the company with a competitive advantage post-Covid when other owners were playing catch-up on amenities and experience to get workers back to the office. Building this business at Silverstein and thinking about it in the context of the future of work and enhancing real estate value was a passion of mine, as it brought me back to why I became interested in real estate in the first place: how it can impact and shape the human experience.

After almost 14 years at Silverstein, I left in 2024 for a unique opportunity at CBRE in a new line of business, investor portfolio management, or IPM. IPM serves property owners at the portfolio level through a strategic partnership that includes tailored solutions and dedicated resources to maximize property value and enhance the tenant experience. I’m now the executive managing director and lead for the Brookfield Properties account, IPM’s cornerstone client. I oversee operations for Brookfield’s 70M SF North America office portfolio, leading a team of 1,100 professionals across the U.S. and Canada.

Bisnow: Can you talk about how CBRE’s Women’s Network provides opportunities to women in CRE?

Bevacqua: The Women's Network has over 7,000 members around the globe who work at CBRE.

It offers development opportunities, connection with other women at CBRE and advocacy. It gives women a level playing field, minimizing unconscious bias and striving for parity across every level of the company. Since starting at CBRE, the Women's Network has been a valuable resource and way to connect with and learn from other like-minded women.

Bisnow: What advice would you give women starting their careers in this industry?

Bevacqua: Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Focus on ways to make your boss's job easier.

Focus on networking early in your career, at your company and in industry groups like Urban Land Institute and CREW. This not only helps build relationships, but it’s a good way to find a mentor.

Finally, make sure you advocate for yourself. Spend 15 minutes every Friday listing out your weekly accomplishments, and then aggregate them in a results-driven and impactful way and share them before a mid-year or annual review with your boss. It will highlight all your contributions, make your boss’s job of doing your review easier and ensure that you are advocating for yourself without feeling overly boastful. This habit has served me well throughout my career.

This article was produced in collaboration between CBRE and Studio B. Bisnow news staff was not involved in the production of this content.

Studio B is Bisnow’s in-house content and design studio. To learn more about how Studio B can help your team, reach out to studio@bisnow.com.