Keith Lipton

Meet Keith Lipton

What is your role at Avison Young?

Chief Operating Officer, U.S. Operations.

How did you get into commercial real estate?

I joined Jones Lang Wootton (predecessor to JLL) as an Assistant Property Manager.

Who has been the most influential woman in your life?

Excluding my wife, it is impossible to pick one. There are several women who have been role models, whether personally or professionally (or both) that have influenced my life and career over the past 30 years. Since I cannot write about all of them, I’ll highlight just two.

Early in my career, one of my role models was a good friend’s mom, Mrs. Ann Iverson. Mrs. Iverson was a trailblazing executive that served as CEO of several large companies including Laura Ashley and KB Toys in the late 1980's and early 1990's when there were very few female executives. I admired everything about her - how she worked (all the time), how she cared about people (taking the red-eye from London to make it to my wedding), how she prioritized her family and faith and so much more. Mrs. Iverson's morals were so strong that as CEO of KB Toys in 1994, she removed hundreds of thousands of toy guns from the stores out of concern for the safety of children. While I never worked with Mrs. Iverson, I learned so much from watching (and admiring) her career.

Another leader, one that I met on my first day at Jones Lang Wootton and have had the pleasure of working with for 30 years at 4 different firms is Margaret Donkerbrook. Margaret and I have spent basically our entire careers together. At JLW, we crossed paths but didn’t really work together very much. At CBRE, we started working together when she ran the D.C. Region’s research/marketing and communications department and I led the asset services group and we collaborated on proposals presentations and client related work. When I left CBRE to lead the Grubb & Ellis DC Region, I remember walking with Mark Rose around ICSC in Vegas when he asked me, “What do you need to succeed in D.C.?” I looked at him and simply said “Margaret”. A month later, Margaret and I were working together – and she was the first female Managing Director at any CRE firm in D.C. and the first at Grubb and Ellis company wide.

When the time came to launch Avison Young’s D.C. metro region, Margaret, Sarah Peyton and I did it together as a team. Each one of us brought our unique skills to the equation and we worked side by side to build the office. Since we were partners at G&E, Margaret has been that voice of reason, calming influence, devil’s advocate, therapist, friend, and partner. I owe so much of any success that I have enjoyed over my career to having her by my side.

What advice would you give women starting out in real estate?

The same advice I would give anyone. Work hard, build relationships and always continue to learn. Surround yourself with people that you respect, take an interest in you and those you can learn from.

This year's IWD theme is Choose to Challenge. What do you choose to challenge or celebrate to help create more inclusion in your community?

I chose to challenge the industry norm of hiring practices. Break the hiring cycle of what we have been doing and bring a diverse view to our industry. We will be better for it.

What would people be surprised to learn about you?

I am a product of the foster care system.

What women’s organizations would you recommend other women get involved with?

Any organization that fuels a passion of yours. The more it means to you, the more you will give of yourself to it.