There’s a reason why Cristina Fernbach, construction consultant for ZELUS, arrived at the AZ Big Media photo studio equipped with party streamers. In tow with Fernbach was her soon-to-be 90-year-old grandmother, Betty Niles, owner and founder of B/N Arizona Realty and beloved, respected figure within Arizona’s commercial real estate community. With a commercial and residential real estate resume longer than the Declaration of Independence (and dare we say equally impressive), as well as being one of the first female board members of the Arizona Association of Industrial Development (AAID) — now Arizona Association of Economic Development (AAED) for which she is still a member — why wouldn’t you bring party streamers for Niles?

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Niles’ entry into commercial real estate occurred in a roundabout way in the early 1970s. Beginning as an office manager for Industrial Resource Inc., managing the Grant Road Industrial Center in Tucson, Niles — largely out of necessity — found she was managing much more than administrative duties.

“I started getting in touch with clients, and all of a sudden [my boss] said, ‘Well, you know more about the clients than I do,’ and then we had an architect who didn’t get along with him and didn’t have the personality to get along with the people at the city,” Niles explains. “So they sent me down to the city to deal and get the plans through. I finally worked myself into the job and became the manager of the park.” 

In tandem with her journey from office manager to broker, Niles joined NAIOP (NAOP at the time) and AAID (now AAED). 

Perhaps not surprisingly, during her management tenure at the Grand Road Industrial Center — which encompassed 850,000 square feet and 30 buildings over 92 acres — Niles was an anomaly as a woman in commercial real estate. But despite being one of few women brokers, Niles never let her gender define her or the way she conducted business.

“I never, ever acted like, ‘Oh, I’m a woman and I am owed this,’” she says. “Or, ‘I’m owed that because I’m a woman, or I’ve got these two little kids.’ I tell you; all of the brokers hated it, because the way I ran the business, everybody paid the same price. Everybody signed the same lease. Everybody followed the same rules.”

The steadfastness and courage Niles embodies has not only inspired countless other women and men in commercial real estate, but has permeated her family tree. 

“I feel like I’ve always called my grandma no matter what I’ve done,” Cristina Fernbach says, “and when I was younger, I didn’t realize how similar we were. As I became older, I realized that we have so much in common and I think a lot more like her than what I ever realized. So I call and confide in her about everything, especially when it comes to my job, career and when I started my company.”

Fernbach goes on to explain that it doesn’t hurt that Niles also has an extensive professional network.

“When I went to CBRE in Tucson, she knew everyone at CBRE,” Fernbach says, “and everyone knew her.”

Fernbach — who indeed landed a position with CBRE in Tucson — had some time away from the CRE world, working with national furniture distributors and technology sales, but has always remained connected to her grandmother and the CRE world.

“When I established Niles Consultants, I had my grandma walk me through the entire LLC creation process,” Fernbach explains. “I was on my laptop and phone with her going through everything and she helped me come up with a plan.”

Ultimately, the familial bond of commercial real estate remained in Cristina Fernbach, ushering her to her present position at ZELUS. 

“I missed my community and I remained involved with ULI the whole time,” Fernabach says. “I was the young leader’s chair and I went to Trends Day. All the people I hadn’t seen in two years were there, and it was incredible. I thought ‘How did I leave this? I miss this. I miss my group, I miss my community.’”

Now fully “back” in the community, joining Niles (who shared with me she’s currently working on three different deals!), Fernbach and Niles are both active in several CRE organizations. Fernbach sits on five committees and Niles serves on the Southern AAED committee. Additionally, both women are passionate about helping advocate and mentor the next generation of women seeking to enter Arizona’s CRE industry. 

As for advising young women, Cristina Fernbach offers this: “Don’t be afraid to be yourself, because I’ve learned going through the process, that the best thing about you is you. There are so many people that go to different events or their new job and they’re expecting to be somebody different, but yet the best thing about you is you. And if somebody doesn’t like you, then they’re not worth your time.”

Adds Niles, “Get involved, but get involved with quality things. Don’t waste your time on things that aren’t going to support you or further your career, and get to know the people that you’re dealing with.”

As Niles approaches her 90th birthday this March, if you’re wondering if she plans to retire any time soon, forget about it! 

“I’ve never retired and I don’t intend to retire,” she says.