Gray, senior vice president at McCall & Almy, Inc., gives her views and opinions on real estate

Name: Julie Gray Title: Senior Vice President Company/firm: McCall & Almy, Inc. Years with company/firm: 12; Years in field: 20; Years in real estate industry: 20 Address: One Post Office Square, Boston, MA 02109 Telephone: 617-542-4141 Email: jgray@mccallalmy.com URL: www.mccallalmy.com Responsibilities include: Provide advisory real estate services and tenant representation to a variety of corporate clients. I'm involved in corporate real estate advisory projects related to acquisition and disposition strategies, strategic planning and tenant representation. Real estate organizations / affiliations: *NAIOP Massachusetts *Member, New England Women in Real Estate *Member, Commercial Brokers Association Professionally, where were you ten years ago and where are you now? I had just completed graduate school and was starting at McCall & Almy. Today, I am still with McCall & Almy and involved with many high profile clients and projects. What single event professional or personal has most significantly impacted your career? The single event that had the greatest impact was pursuing my MBA at Northeastern University. While many of the business concepts were familiar, graduate school gave me more confidence about that knowledge and helped me pull together different concepts like marketing, sales, accounting, strategy and operations. What was the best decision that you made in the last year? The best decision of the past year was to grow my knowledge of "Meds and Eds." McCall & Almy continues to have a strong client base of medical/research-related organizations and educational institutions, and enhancing my focus on those markets has been tremendously rewarding. What award or recognition has been the most meaningful to you and why? While not specifically an award or recognition, it has been very meaningful to work with non-profit clients. They bring a different perspective to the table and appreciate real estate guidance and reassurance when working through a deal. Who has been the strongest influence on your career and why? I'd say the strongest influence comes from other professionals outside of the commercial real estate industry. There is something to learn from every situation, and I've found it's the process and experience that has the strongest influence instead of an individual person. What advice would you give to a woman just starting a career in your field? I would recommend attending graduate school and joining professional organizations. In addition, identify those women who are successful and learn their stories. Use that to find your own way to success. Julie Gray is senior vice president at McCall & Almy, Inc., Boston, Mass.