Breaking with tradition.

George F. Donohue, president of William B. May International, broke with tradition when he decided to become an architect instead of a police officer like his father and uncles.

He was drawn to the idea of designing buildings that spoke to the artist and scientist in him.

"It was the idea of creating something from nothing and problem solving," he said. "It's a challenge to try and design something with function."

Dohohue, 44, began his education at Pratt University where he took classes in architecture and design.

He later transferred to New York University where he received a diploma in construction management and then to New York Institute of Technology to attain a Bachelor of Science in architecture. Upon graduation, he became the first person from both sides of his family to graduate from college.

After college, he found it difficult to find a position as an architect and thus began his career in a related field, real estate, where he excelled using his skills in negotiation, and diplomacy.

In 1987, at the age of 29, he became the youngest person to manage World Trade Center Real Estate for the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. He was responsible for leasing the 12,000,000 SF of space at the center, as well as other Port Authority properties.

Donohue enjoyed his career at the Port Authority, where he worked from 1987 to 2000, especially at the World Trade Center where he was kept very busy.

"From a real estate experience point of view, working at the trade center was a place where experience was accelerated," Donohue said. "In the morning, I would negotiated with the Japanese clients, at lunchtime with British and in the evening with domestic clients. You did a great volume of deals with a great deal of complexity."

In his current position, as president of William B. May, Donohue is responsible for the planning and direction of the company's policies, objectives and initiatives.

He also manages the overall operation of the several divisions. which include office leasing, retail leasing, investment sales, hospitality advisory services, asset management, and international real estate.

He hopes to take William B. May, that was established in 1866, to a another level.

"I would like to grow it into a public company," he said. "I think people would be interested in a 137-year-old company with a very good trademark."

For those who are now entering the field of real estate, Donohue recommends classes in arts, science and math as well as rudimentary skills.

"I find a lot of young people going into real estate now don't have strong organizational skills," he said. "Either they are not teaching it in school or they just don't know how to be efficient."

Picking up a second language might also be helpful to enter international real estate, as well as the appreciation of different cultures.

At the World Trade Center, thousands of people from countries around the world worked side by side. Donohue's advice "I tell people to look for similarities, not the differences."

In his career, Donohue has traveled worldwide and speaks three languages, including Spanish and Japanese.

He also furthered his education and holds a Master of Science degree in real estate development and investment analysis from New York University and a Ph.D. in international Business from Pace University.