Nadine J. Gibson

Vice President, Project Management
Jones Lang LaSalle
Cincinnati, Ohio
Age: 38


When Nadine J. Gibson was a mechanical engineering student at Georgia Institute of Technology, a professor told her that, as a Black woman, she wasn’t bright enough to earn a degree in a male-dominated field. True to character, Gibson strove to prove this teacher wrong. The daughter of Haitian immigrants, she was raised to believe that she could achieve whatever she set in her sights.

She spent three years out of college as an engineer at Procter & Gamble Co., and Gibson was ready for a new opportunity. Her boss suggested a position in the company’s facilities and real estate department and, though unsure how her engineering background as an accredited professional in Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design would fit in this role, she seized the opportunity. “It turned out to the best decision I made in my career,” says Gibson. “My background in engineering actually gave me an edge when it came to providing project management.”

She spent three years as a project manager at P&G, earning an M.B.A. from Xavier University in the process, then joined Jones Lang LaSalle, a Chicago global real estate services firm, as a project manager. Seven years later, she’s an associate director in the Project Management, working with one of the firm’s key clients. While Gibson is driven to find solutions that will benefit both her firm and her clients, she is most proud of leading diversity initiatives for her company and her accounts. Her diversity work has earned her and her team a DaVinci Award for innovation and she now sits on the firm’s Diversity Council. “The real estate business has traditionally been a man’s industry and there are not many African-American women role models for me to follow,” Gibson says. “I aspire to be the role model I so desperately sought while moving up the corporate ladder.”

Fun Facts
Favorite song: “No Ordinary Love” by Sade
Favorite food: Italian
Favorite sports team: Oakland Raiders