Women in top real estate positions share views on leadership
A Silicon Valley Association of Realtors meeting recently featured a panel of women, decades-long top producers/industry leaders who are seen by many in the local real estate community as having broken the barriers for all women in real estate. Realtors were inspired by their stories of juggling work and family, how they became successful, and the advice they shared about leadership.
The panel included Carol Burnett, vice president and managing broker with Compass Saratoga; Judy Bogardtanigami, with Compass Los Altos; Rainy Hake Austin, president of The Agency; Juliette Kulda of The Kulda Group at Keller Williams Realty; and Nancy Robinson, chief growth officer with Corcoran Global Living.
Both Burnett and Bogard-tanigami began their real estate careers in the 1960s, when it was not the norm for women to have careers. Right after college Burnett applied for a position at a business firm and was told they did not hire women. Undaunted, Burnett became a real estate agent. After 12 years as a top-producing agent at Cornish & Carey, she became a manager in 1986. In 2000, Burnett moved to Alain Pinel Realtors Saratoga (now Compass), where is vice president and managing broker.
A top-producing agent in Silicon Valley for 40-plus years, Bogardtanigami started in real estate by working two days a week. With four daughters under the age of seven, to succeed, time management and the ability to multi-task were essential.
“I remember picking up the kids with clients in the car. I was very honest with my clients about my situation,” said Bogard-tanigami. She has adhered to the virtue throughout her career.
“You need to be honest with your clients and concerned with their needs first and foremost,” she stressed.
Bogard-tanigami founded Seville properties, the first all-womanowned real estate firm on the Peninsula. Bogardtanigami and her daughter Cindy Bogardo’gorman make up the Bogard-tanigami Team and have been recognized as top agents by the Wall Street Journal.
Hake Austin has over 25 years of experience leading esteemed real estate firms. She served as head of operations west at Compass and as executive vice president and chief operating officer of Northern California for Alain Pinel Realtors. She is currently president of The Agency.
A mother of two children under the age of four, Hake Austin noted she was never intimidated being the only female executive in a roomful of men. She saw it as a challenge, not an obstacle.
“Every challenge allows you to learn and rise to opportunity,” she said.
Kulda joined Keller Williams Peninsula Estates in Burlingame in 2014. In 2015, she was the #5 Keller Williams International Individual Agent. She was recognized as one of “The 100 Most Influential Real Estate Agents in Northern California” by Real Estate Executive Magazine. Today, the Kulda Team, which includes some of her 10 children, is based in Half Moon Bay.
“Family and spirituality are important to me,” said Kulda. She values her family’s routine of morning exercise, daily mass, team meeting, coaching, appointments, accountability, and checking to see how each person’s day went.
Robinson started as a sales associate with Coldwell Banker Realty in 2003 and advanced to regional vice president. In 2020, she joined Corcoran Global Living as the chief growth officer.
Robinson said she measures success by her desire to impact the lives of her agents. She noted, “Selflessness is an important trait of leadership.”
A common thread among these female leaders is their caring for their clients and agents, inspiring and helping them grow, tenacity, honesty, knowing to delegate to others tasks they don’t like or are not good at, understanding that everybody’s needs are different, and most of all, enjoying what they do.
“If you are going to be at the top of your game, you have got to love what you do. If that’s not the case, it’s time to get out,” said Burnett.