The push to hire or recruit women into top-level roles in private real estate comes with a multitude of challenges, not least of which is the lack of senior females in the industry. Ferguson Partners’ Head of Europe Serena Althaus recently shared her perspectives on the topic in Evelyn Lee’s new PERE cover story The Search for the Female CEO.
What do the world’s largest asset manager, the world’s largest sovereign wealth fund and the largest US pension plan have in common? All three have put women in charge of their real estate businesses in the past year.
In fact, PERE counted at least a dozen private real estate managers and investors that have hired or promoted females into top positions – including global or regional heads and C-suite roles – since April 2020.
Gone are the days when women in private real estate were limited to capital raising and investor relations, what industry veteran Nori Gerardo Lietz called “the pink ghetto” in a 2012 white paper.
Now, talented females are in high demand for the most senior roles in the industry. PERE spoke with more than a dozen managers, investors, recruiters and advisers to examine the drivers – and consequences – of this change.
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For further information on this topic or to learn more, contact Serena Althaus at [email protected].
This article is included in the publication PERE and can be found here.