Stars to Watch 2013: Melissa Marcolini-Quinn

Senior Vice President & Senior Director, NorthMarq Capital

Memorable Achievements: Last year was an “amazing” year, with Marcolini-Quinn contributing $125 million in financings to the office. She closed seven deals in two weeks at the beginning of the year, six of them Freddie Mac affordable housing transactions, five of them small and in tertiary markets, and ended the year with two fairly large deals in the fourth quarter.

Most Proud Of: Her production accomplishments, especially as a woman in a very male-dominated field.

What Others Say About Her: Michelle Vice, assistant vice president of finance for Picerne Development Corp. of Florida, has closed 12 deals with Marcolini-Quinn during the past three years, including some complicated deals, deals with hair on them, and all of them have been extremely successful, she said. She finds Marcolini-Quinn to be “very hands on through the entire process,” the type of person who doesn’t mind rolling up her sleeves and is more than willing to step up to the plate to make sure Picerne is getting the best deal possible.

Greatest Challenges: Balancing personal and work life (she gave birth to daughter Rory in 2008, the year she became a producer). “I haven’t quite learned to turn it off yet, and I think that’s a skill developed over time.”

Secrets to Success: Hard work and an understanding family. Getting to learn everything, from start to finish, as an analyst before moving into production.

Best Advice Received: From NorthMarq’s Andy Moses: Keep your head down and just push through it. NorthMarq’s Sue Blumberg described it as “quietly creeping”—focus on what you need to do and get it done. NorthMarq brokers have also taught her, “Get your hands dirty” (get into the trenches and do what needs to be done).

Advice to Others: Move slowly, learn as much as you possibly can, build your book of business and understand what you’re getting into. It’s a 24/7 job—you don’t get to turn it off; you need to embrace it, knowing that your clients are going to demand a lot of you.

—Suzann D. Silverman

More details on the accomplishments of CPE’s 2013 Stars to Watch appeared in the May 2013 issue.