The Real Deal
Date
Reading Time
5 Minutes
“Recalling the ‘Toughest Woman in Real Estate’”
Tactical summary:
—The Real Deal piece provides extensive praise for Benattar’s accomplishments (top of her class at LSE, early CEO roles, pioneering the GM Building project). It also recounts some challenges and unique tactics – for instance, how she faced local outrage when evicting tenants to clear the GM Building site, and even employed unorthodox methods like hiring ex-convicts as security to give people second chances. These aspects were described matter-of-factly, showcasing her toughness and unconventional style without casting her in a negative tone. In sum, The Real Deal’s profile is overwhelmingly positive, cementing Cecilia Benattar’s legacy as a formidable real estate executive who paved the way for others.
New York real estate magazine The Real Deal profiled Cecilia Benattar as a trailblazer who broke barriers in a male-dominated industry. The article opens by stating that “women who have smashed through the glass ceiling in New York real estate may have Cecilia Benattar to thank.” It notes that Benattar “blazed a trail through a male-dominated industry more than 50 years ago.”
By her mid-30s she had played a key role in developing Midtown’s iconic GM Building at a time when women were usually relegated to secretary roles. Her son, Simon Benattar, is quoted celebrating her relentless drive: “She would never take no for an answer… She would walk through walls, and nothing could stop her.”
According to the profile, contemporaries dubbed Cecilia the “toughest woman in real estate” in the 1960s, and she herself told Life magazine that she never relied on sympathy: “I never cried to get anything in business, and I never intend to.”
Such excerpts illustrate NIOT’s founder as an indefatigable and innovative leader.