Ginny Forster

What started out as an interest in commercial art turned into a fascination with the art of the deal for Virginia “Ginny” Forster.

After spending some time at the Massachusetts College of Art, Forster decided college wasn’t for her - on-the-job training was. She took a job as the general manager of The Headquarters Co. in Boston, doing property management for the provider of executive suites.

From there, she left the real estate field - or so she thought - to work for IDG Communications, publisher of computer-related periodicals and contributor to several Dummies books on computer topics.

Little did she know that path would take her straight back to real estate.

“When I started with them, I was hired into a different position as an executive assistant to the president of the company. The president then resigned, and the company decided not to replace him about a week before I started,” she said.

“The new CFO asked me to come on board and figure out what they had for real estate and what they needed for real estate. I said, ‘Excuse me, I think you may be looking at somebody else’s resume.’”

Forster said the CFO reiterated that he wanted her to come on board and figure out the company’s real estate situation as a special project. So she took a leap of faith.

“I found out I loved it. I was very good at it, which surprised me,” she said, adding she soon branched out into other areas such as space planning and lease negotiation.

Now Forster is head of corporate real estate for staffing firm Spherion Corporation, handling a portfolio of 250 leased locations that includes branch offices, secondary headquarters and call centers in the U.S., Canada and the United Kingdom.

She led a team that - together with CB Richard Ellis - completed more than 180 transactions in 2006. Her department coordinates leasing activities in the U.S., with support to Canadian operations and U.K. subleasing.

Forster is responsible for setting corporate standards for Spherion’s space and making sure the expectations of architects and contractors mesh with those standards. It’s the challenge that keeps her interested, she said.

“I almost feel like - when we wrap up a project - there should be prize money. It’s dealing with a lot of challenges along the way,” she said.

Prior to becoming senior manager, Forster served as a real estate portfolio manager for Spherion, helping to reduce the overall number of leased sites via co-locations of various business units. This included support to domestic and international field operations - and extensive disposition activity.

Prior to working with Spherion, Forster was a property manager with Cushman & Wakefield in Fort Lauderdale, handling all American Express owned and leased operating centers in South Florida. The portfolio consisted of 10 buildings totaling 1 msf.

Forster said her future plans call for tackling a job that has even more responsibility than she has now - someday.

“I think it would be to move into a larger company with a more challenging portfolio of larger locations. But at the same time, I’m pleased with this company as well,” she said. “I’d most like to expand my networking so I’m involved in more groups that do what I do and have people who do what I do.”

Forster is a member of the Women’s Executive Club of Fort Lauderdale and has been affiliated with the Building Owners and Managers Association and the International Facilities Managers Association.