Pioneering women stake out success in commercial sales.

WHEN Charles Dunn Co. held its annual real estate awards banquet, the broker named salesperson of the year was a woman: Janet Neman, who works out of Dunn's West L.A. office.

The year before, it was Stacy Vierheilig, senior managing director at the company's East San Fernando Valley office.

You can count the number of women brokers at Dunn on one hand, and two of those have snagged the top award in the past two years.

"Over the years, women have tried to come into the business and so many of them have failed," Vierheilig said. "But the ones that succeed do very well."

Indeed, making Dunn's cut as the top salesperson means a broker has earned close to $1 million in commissions for the year.

Vierheilig, a 16-year veteran who specializes in the entertainment industry, said she's had an easier time because Hollywood is accustomed to women in positions of authority--and they go toe-to-toe with the men all the time. But other industries, and especially real estate businesses, are not especially welcoming to the fairer sex.

"Some people still believe that women can't do the job," Vierheilig said. "I think there's definitely a good old boy network. There's a lot more bonding among guys."

Not all of her colleagues agree.

"Women have a great advantage because men like to work with women," said Madeline Schwartz, first vice president at CB Richard Ellis who has been a commercial real estate broker in the office market for 30 years.

Still, check the rosters at just about any brokerage company and women are conspicuous by their absence. Fewer still specialize in the industrial sector.

"Across the country, I could probably count on one hand the number of female brokers who handle industrial real estate," said Barbara L. Emmons, senior vice president at CB's Glendale office. She is one of those few. "I think it's because traditionally I don't think women were seen as working in manufacturing and warehousing."

The women who do choose a career in commercial real estate tend to do so because they have friends or relatives in the business.

Emmons followed her sister, Darla Longo in CB's Ontario office, on the advice of their dad, who was in the steel manufacturing business. Vierheilig's dad was one of the original partners at Charles Dunn.

Growing up, Vierheilig said, "I had a nice life, a nice house, nice cars and my dad said he would help me. He didn't give me any leads, but he was my confidant."

Vierheilig recalls that in those years she would often call her father in tears, asking for advice.

Today, CB runs a mentoring program that started four years ago as a way to help encourage women in the profession, but has since evolved as a training tool for all the new recruits.

Emmons is active in the program and has mentored both men and women starting out. She says that while the environment for women is changing there are still some areas where women need be more vigilant.

"Being conservative in the way you dress, not being the last to leave a party. If you're a woman it's more important that you are very professional. Men can sometimes get away with being less professional," Emmons said. "Women have a higher standard to meet."

Slam Dunk Deal

Judicial Arbitration & Mediation Services is moving its downtown Los Angeles offices to AON Center, having signed a 10-year deal for 22,000 square feet worth between $5 million and $6 million.

JAMS will move from its 13,000-square-foot offices at World Trade Center in June, according to Dennis Smith, senior vice president at Travers Realty Oncor International, who represented the tenants. The additional space and the availability of a 100-person capacity auditorium at the 1 million-square-foot building at 707 Wilshire Blvd. were primary draws.

"They really like the building for its views, its good on-site parking and its central location," said Smith. "It will augment their business."

Negotiations for the space began in the third quarter last year, when Wells Fargo & Co. still owned the building, L.A.'s second tallest. Transwestern Investment Co. bought the 31-year-old building, about 20 percent vacant, earlier this year for about $120 million.

CB Richard Ellis' Todd Doney and Nico Vilgiate and Charlie Smith, now with Thomas Properties Group, represented the landlord.

Match Made

Lithographix Inc. has paid more than $12 million for a 249,000-square-foot former Northrop Grumman production building in Hawthorne and will be moving its headquarters there from Gardena.

The building, at 12250 Crenshaw Blvd., includes 75,000 square feet of mezzanine office space and is part of the 105-acre former Northrop site being redeveloped by Lowe Enterprises Inc. into a mixed-use project called The Exchange.

"It's a difficult building to market because it's hard to find someone who needs 75,000 square feet of offices with a big warehouse like that," said Mike Hilton, managing partner at Gateway Business Properties, who, with Gateway's Chris Mennes, represented the buyer. "(Lithographix) was looking for a larger facility throughout the South Bay and this is ideal for their client base."

Lithographix, which produces brochures and annual reports for companies ranging from Lexus to Jack in the Box Inc., will move its headquarters from 13500 Figueroa St. and will invest about $1 million in improvements, said Hilton.

Lowe was represented by Colliers Seeley's Drummond and Garrison Parcells and Fisher & Co.'s Jeff Kernochan.

Los Angeles Business Journal staff reporter Danny King contributed to this column.