Our Lady of the Forest: MaryAnne Gilmartin On Taking Charge at FCRC

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You’ve played a prominent role in the company for a number of years, but is there anything you’ll bring differently to your new role or that you intend on changing?

I think the portfolio for me will be bigger, in the sense [that] it will have a more global perspective. So maybe some of the day-to-day work I do on projects today might shift, but I will certainly be heavily involved in Atlantic Yards, heavily involved in the existing portfolio, and I expect to stay very close to the things that are near and dear to this company.

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For example, multifamily housing is the darling of the development industry right now, and I will really be part of shaping the pipeline because we are ground-up developers—we don’t acquire portfolios. We build and keep what we build for the most part. I know the development business and, like I said, I know how to operate a portfolio. I will continue to do a lot of that but on a more executive-level scale.

We have an incredible bench, and the story that I would love to see out there is the story that 70 percent of the developers in this place are women, and we have great role models all around for demonstrating that women can do bricks-and-mortar and women understand the real estate development business. I’m proud to be part of a company that recognizes that, because for Bruce Ratner, it’s the best man or woman to do the job.

Building from that, real estate is still considered a man’s world by many; can you address the significance of taking over this role for the industry as a whole?

For me, I’m ready for the job, and I feel very confident that I’ll do the very best job I can. I am mindful of symbolically what it represents, so I take that responsibility greatly, but I also think the best thing I can do is to be a good example for women in the industry.

I always say it is about the platform, and I have had a great platform, because as a developer, you are what you build. I have been given a great opportunity to build great buildings, and that is the very best way to show people what you’re about. I know my stuff, and I think knowing your stuff is a very important ingredient to success. And I also appreciate the power of relationships. Those have been the drivers for me, but I could not do it without the platform or a company that believed in me and was true to the notion that if it’s a meritocracy the right people get the job. That’s the ethos of this company, and that is something I want to continue to hold up there as a model for the industry.

I think that if you said, “What’s success in that respect?” If you and I had an interview and the fact that I was a woman didn’t come up because it wasn’t as remarkable as it might be today, that would be great.

Can you elaborate on how you envision the working relationship with Mr. Ratner going forward and how that dynamic will work?

I want to start by saying what I said before, which is that I would not have agreed to take the position if Bruce were not going to continue to participate in the company—that was a job requirement, if you will. We’ve worked so closely for many years now, I think we have the same goals and the same commitment in terms of what we believe the company is about.

We finish each others’ sentences; we have spirited debates. We often have better results because of the way we can argue back and forth, and I expect all of that will continue.

Any final thoughts?

I think there are some amazing women here with extraordinary gifts, and I really want to be thought of as a place where women can really enter this field and excel if they’ve got the right stuff.