www.negociosnow.com
40 March 2022
Property
researcher
Age: 37
Title: Director of Research
Name of Organization: Lee &
Associates of Illinois
As director of market re-
search, Diana Pérez provides
comprehensive analysis and
market reports to business
partners and senior manage-
ment, driving sales and reve-
nue for Lee & Associates, the
largest broker-owned com-
mercial real estate firm in Nor-
th America.
Pérez has more than 10
years of experience mana-
ging 1.3 billion square feet
industrial space in Chicago,
northwestern Indiana, and
southeast Wisconsin. During
her six-year tenure with the
firm, she has played a key role
in the rapid growth of the In-
dustrial Research department.
She was born and raised in
Ecuador and immigrated to
the Chicago area in 2000 when
she was 17. She left behind her
mother, father, and brother to
pursue her interest in learning
English. She graduated from
high school with honors after
two years as an ESL student.
Within one year of moving
to the Chicago area, she got
her first job working as a hos
-
tess and was soon promoted
to waitress. She also enrolled
at the International Academy
of Design & Technology and
received a degree in interior
design in 2010. With no jobs
available during the recession,
Pérez continued working as a
waitress and found a second
job cleaning office buildings
in the evenings. While cleaning
an office, she overhead an offi
-
ce manager mention a tempo-
rary job for a research analyst
with the industrial real estate
firm. She introduced herself,
handed over a copy of her resu-
me that she had in her car, and
received a job offer a few days
after the interview. She worked
9 to 5 as an analyst, then clea-
ned the same building after
hours. A few months later she
was offered a full-time position
and left her other jobs.
After three years, she had
the opportunity to move to
a larger firm, and three years
after that, in 2016, Lee & Asso-
ciates offered her the position
of director of market research.
Diana Pérez
WORDS OF WISDOM:
"E
very job is a learning
experience, an opportunity for
professional and personal growth,
a path towards your own American
Dream."
