2025 Women in CRE: Carol Justic, Colliers

What’s a challenge you faced early in your career, and how did you overcome it? Early in my career, I was controller for a small CRE firm, reporting directly to an owner whose unpredictable style created tension with staff and managers alike. Working for him and with him was difficult, but I focused on maintaining professionalism. Together, our team kept operations steady and improved our business strategies, which helped stabilize & grow the company even in a challenging environment. Under new leadership, our small firm became part of Colliers and has since expanded throughout Northern New England. I’m proud to have played a role in laying the foundation for that growth.

What advice would you give to a woman considering a career in commercial real estate? The roads are endless in commercial real estate. I gravitated to finance because that is what I love – I enjoy seeing the trends and market changes from quarter to quarter, year to year. But there are so many paths to explore – brokerage, development, property management, research, marketing; and my advice is to stay curious, try different areas, and find the part of CRE that excites you most. This industry is ever changing and always exciting!