The long-held stereotype of Architecture/Engineering/Construction and commercial real estate being the exclusive domain of “the old boys club” has faded, and the panel of powerhouse women leaders in the industry at the Sept. 8 BEX Leading Market Series event at SkySong demonstrated why.
Marisa Palomo, VP, Arizona at event sponsor The PENTA Building Group, served as moderator. The panel was comprised of:
- Shelby JM Duplessis, founder and managing partner of Diversified Future;
- Ann O’Brien, City of Phoenix Councilmember, and
- Vicki Mayo; CEO of Sunny Day Sports and owner of Mayo Global.
PENTA’s sponsorship included presenting the event free of charge for attendees.
Projects and Plans
While the “Advancing Women Leaders: Building Arizona’s Future” event would quickly pivot to examine cultural issues, challenges and successes, it would not be a BEX LMS event without first detailing what projects and plans the panelists are working on.
Mayo took the question first. Her companies’ current flagship efforts are centered around redeveloping the former Fiesta Mall site in Mesa into The Palo District, a mixed-use master plan that includes a potential 25,000-seat, fully enclosed soccer stadium that can accommodate Major League Soccer and Women’s Super League professional events. Other plans for the theme park-designated district include 250KSF of retail, hotels, restaurants and more than 1,000 residential units.
Mayo is also working to convert a nearby former golf course facility into a training facility for professional soccer and is currently looking for a new home for the Turf Paradise horse racing venue, which is leaving the location it has occupied near 19th Avenue and Bell Road in Phoenix since 1956. The eventual new facility will also be centered around a full entertainment district, she said.
More details will be released as the plans progress.
Next came Duplessis, who has added to her reputation as an industry powerhouse since striking out on her own and starting Diversified Future. One project taking a great deal of her focus, currently, involves a major General Plan amendment for 4,400 acres in Bullhead City associated with the 11,800-acre Laughlin Ranch redevelopment. The plan includes 1,500 residential units comprised of both multifamily and single-family, as well as 2,600 acres of light industrial and commercial, including a data center.
Much of Duplessis’ current efforts focus on outreach and community education. “Neighbors are very concerned and have a lot of questions. I’m just helping to guide them. I think ‘knowledge is power,’ and I’m helping them to understand what, truly, a data center means versus what they think it means.”
As a member of Phoenix City Council, O’Brien praised the expansive growth and revitalization taking place in the northwest Phoenix district she represents. She reminded attendees how little development and direct opportunities for residents existed in the area between Interstate 17 and Loop 303 just a few years ago and fired off a few of the many major developments that have launched or been announced in and around her district in the last several years, including:
- The entire scope of Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company-related projects, including the $265B TSMC direct investment,
- Halo Vista,
- Costco at Halo Vista,
- The nearly 6,500-acre NorthPark master plan area and
- Numerous projects launched by suppliers and other companies in support of TSMC.
Obstacles, Opportunities and Thoughts on Leadership
Palomo asked each of the panelists to give some background as to how they ended up in leadership roles, and each origin story was worthy of its own profile. The common theme around each was a drive to improve their circumstances despite significant obstacles while also bettering their fields and the world around them through their efforts.
Having established everyone’s bona fides, she then asked the members to talk about the challenges and opportunities for women in A/E/C and real estate development arenas.
Mayo said the industry is largely built on relationships. “Most of those relationships,” she said, “were built in a very traditional way, and that maybe meant there wasn’t as much room for women in those rooms. The good news is that those relationships, those networks, are changing, and when change happens there’s a lot of opportunity for women to step up. I see that as a big challenge, but also an opportunity.”
She then cited the rise of artificial intelligence in the workplace causing an overall sense of disruption in how business is done. “There are women in those rooms having those conversations, and there are a lot of men in those rooms. Through allyship and sponsorship, we can open the doors and let women come in. Right now, the future is being written.”
Duplessis said the most important thing she discovered was finding the foundation to believe in herself. She is proud to have served as an example for her younger sisters and offered that family relationship as a microcosm of how to maintain respect for one’s origins and then press forward in new ways.
She touted education, networking and developing the belief one has a right to take a place at whatever table one wants to occupy. “As uncomfortable as it might be, I learned to not care what (others) thought. Eventually, when you know enough and you add value and help them make more money, they start to listen. Then you can start to create your own path and your own network and your own respect when you walk into a room. I believe in lifting others up through that.”
O’Brien said her mother’s challenges during her formative years and when O’Brien was a child imbued her with a sense there was nowhere she couldn’t belong and nothing she shouldn’t try. “I’m very grateful for that, and I realize it’s not that way for everyone.”
She went on to stress the importance of bringing other women along on one’s path to success, opening doors and placing them in opportunities where they can flourish and advance their own talents. “Think you belong in the room. Don’t be afraid to ask questions. Say, ‘Hi,’ to the person next to you or across the room… because they might be a good connection for you.”
Palomo contributed her own thoughts as one of the few women leaders in a largely male major company. “I think, as leaders, it’s our job to help to do different things, whether we’re male or female, to make sure opportunities are apparent for young women in the industry.”
She then pivoted to ask the panelists to give their thoughts on how to get women into leadership roles. Duplessis said it is important to come to events, build relationships and work with the right people. Mayo agreed, stressing it is vital to mentor and, more importantly, sponsor people. She said a key component of that sponsorship is to bring people along to events and meetings and to make introductions. She also urged attendees to share the secrets of their own success with others.
O’Brien said it is important to not wait to be asked to do what one is good at and, also, to ask people to go out and do what one knows they would be good at. Palomo jumped in to add the importance of pushing others to ask as well, and to not be afraid to recommend and refer people who can make meaningful contributions if given the chance.
At the end of the session, Palomo touched on her observation that women leaders exude confidence and asked the attendees to describe what confidence looks like to them.
O’Brien pointed out it is often a sign of moving in the right direction if one’s actions make others uncomfortable. She urged the attendees to research heavily, inform themselves thoroughly and work to develop relationships as a matter of course.
Duplessis said she sees confidence as simply believing in oneself and urged attendees to have the self-confidence to make themselves known in the rooms they want to be in. She advocated for taking risks, doing what feels right and meeting with people when you don’t need anything from them at the time.
Mayo said it is important to both seek out and give grace, both to others and to oneself. She also urged the crowd to stay curious and be willing to adapt to new events and opportunities.
All the members strongly advocated giving back and reinvesting the benefits of what their experiences and opportunities have given them, both as a means and as an obligation to empower those who follow in their footsteps.