When I came back from New York 28 years ago, I became a receptionist for a real estate company that is no longer around. I went from being a personal assistant to an office manager, and then a managing broker. I first got licensed in ’88, and that’s when I became more involved in transactions. I had experience in management for 11 years before joining Conlon, and the transition from office manager to managing broker was an easy one.

The best advice I’ve heard had to do with agent relationships: ‘always keep in tune with agents and what they’re going through.’ Sometimes managing brokers can become detached. You can’t do that if you want customer service to continue within the organization – your agents need to see you engaging with agents and being a listening body, not just someone to go to when they have a problem, but when good things happen, too. Managing brokers should be a part of their
agents’ success.

RUTH DRUSSY HERNANDEZ, MANAGING BROKER, CONLON: A REAL ESTATE COMPANY, CHICAGO