This December, Midwest Real Estate News will present its second Commercial Real Estate Hall of Fame, honoring more than 50 of the industry’s top names. It’s our most popular issue of the year.
We’ll also be running profiles of several of our Hall of Fame inductees on Rejournals.com. Here’s a sample from our December issue.
Diana Parent Managing Director Sperry Van Ness/Parke Group Fort Wayne, Ind.
Don’t tell Diana Parent that she works in a tertiary market. That hasn’t stopped her from becoming a consistent top producer for Sperry Van Ness.
As managing director of Fort Wayne, Ind.-based Sperry Van Ness/Parke Group, Parent has closed an impressive number of sale and lease deals. And she makes these closings no matter how well, or poorly, the commercial real estate market happens to be performing.
For instance, the weak commercial real estate market didn’t prevent Parent from earning the Sperry Van Ness Achiever’s Award in 2010 and the company’s Partner’s Circle Award one year earlier.
In a business notorious for its highs and lows, Parent has remained consistent; and that’s resulted in a steady and successful 18-year career. It’s also drawn praise from peers who marvel at her work ethic, honesty, skill and market knowledge.
Today, Parent manages a full-service real estate firm with more than 30 employees. Her peers say that Parent is always ready to share her experience with the commercial real estate professionals in her office, and that her leadership skills have helped Sperry Van Ness work successfully through the country’s economic downturn.
Before coming to Sperry Van Ness, Parent worked for such big names as Duke Realty and CB Richard Ellis. This experience, her peers say, gave Parent the solid, well-rounded foundation that she draws upon today.
Her work hasn’t gone unnoticed at Sperry Van Ness. In 2010, the company ranked Parent as the fourth-highest producer in the country. Outside experts have noticed Parent, too. In 2007, Indiana Business Journal selected Parent as one of the magazine’s Future 40 business leaders.
In addition to her work at Sperry Van Ness, Parent has found time to volunteer in her community, serving on several local boards of directors and charitable organizations. Her community work includes time spent with Children’s Hope, Vincent House and the Indiana Women’s CEO Forum. She is also an active member of the St. Vincent de Paul parish.
