2021 Women in Commercial Real Estate: Amy Grenga, Director of Human Resources, New England Construction

What led you to your current profession? My mother. Throughout my life, I am fortunate that I had a strong professional woman as a role model. She is my inspiration and the hardest working individual I have ever met. To summarize my mother, she was able to graduate from high school a year early and received her master’s degree by the time she was 22 years old. As I grew up, she instilled values of working hard and never giving up into our family. Today, my goal is to follow in my mother’s footsteps by being a successful working mother, role model to my son, and to provide for my family.

In the past year, what project, transaction or accomplishment are you most proud of? In the past year, as we all know, COVID-19 was a challenge, but especially from an HR perspective. Ensuring we were following federal, state and local guidelines, implementing policies and protocols, staying up to date with the latest information, and keeping our employees safe were our focus. New England Construction continued to grow and provide opportunities to employees. With growth, comes talent acquisition. This year I am most proud of successfully recruiting, hiring, and on-boarding 35 people since January. This is almost a 50% increase to our company!

What is one characteristic that you believe every woman in commercial real estate should possess? Strong executive presence. Executive presence includes building strong communication and listening skills. In addition, strong executive presence includes the ability to command a room, build relationships, provide solutions, and work effectively under stress.