Sara Spicklemire had never heard of commercial real estate when she met Tom Tunnicliff (whom she calls her “professional father”) who piqued her interest in the industry. After a short time living in Chicago, and working as a dental sales rep driving 150+ miles a day, Spicklemire decided to explore the industry further. After many coffees and informational interviews, she decided to take the plunge and began working with Tunnicliff and his team, focused on tenant representation at Grubb & Ellis.
“Based on Tom’s encouragement, I made the leap,” Spicklemire said, senior vice president/managing director at MB Real Estate. “I’ve remained in the industry because I really enjoy meeting and getting to know all types of people. Since this business is really relationship based, I really enjoy that aspect.”
“Closing deals is always rewarding as well,” she said. “But working on them with my talented team, on behalf of great clients with very significant corporations, makes it truly rewarding.”
With Spicklemire’s recent promotion to managing director at MBRE, she is the first female—and the youngest—in her new role!
“It’s motivating,” she said. “When you set your sights on something and then you achieve it, you can’t let that achievement make you complacent. I look at this as an incredible honor and reward for hard work, but it pushes me toward the next goal and challenges me to be even better in this role. It drives me to work toward the next milestone!”
Spicklemire noted that MBRE is truly a special place to work. “The company really feels more like a professional family, and we treat our clients with great care and customization. We are never handed assignments because of a large national name brand, so we dedicate more resources to our assignments and really tailor our services to the needs of our clients.”
She added, “We have closed transactions in excess of $200,000,000 in lease value for our clients nearing 1,000,000 square feet of leasing this year, so we’ve had a lot of success across our portfolio! Our team is succeeding across the board with the execution of lease up plans, repositioning efforts, introductions of amenities and spec suite programs in all of our assets. I couldn’t be more proud!”
So how does a successful, savvy woman like Spicklemire find the balance between work and the things that keep her sane? She says that balance is tricky to find and maintain.
“I am most successful when I schedule things in advance, and commit to keep them,” she said. “Each Sunday I sit down with my weekly calendar and I map out my workouts (they are my sanity check), my outside work commitments, and I make sure I budget in quality time with my family and friends. Then I commit to treat everything from work, to workouts, as appointments and honor that schedule.”
One thing she’d like to do that she hasn’t already? “Call me crazy, but I’ve always had the dream to climb Mt. Everest.”
Health and fitness is important to Spicklemire as well, as she noted if she wasn’t working in real estate, she would have pursued a career in that field. “I would be the owner of a boutique gym, or a personal trainer—I’m a nut about fitness.”
The upcoming holidays will be filled with nothing but good cheer for Spicklemire, as she’ll be spending them with loved ones.
“I am fortunate that my family and my in-laws get along beautifully,” she said. “We were all together for Thanksgiving in Cincinnati. I will host our joint Christmas/Chanukah celebration in Chicago for the first time before we leave for Yacht Week in the British Virgin Islands over NYE.”
