In life, sometimes embarking on the road less traveled can truly lead one to lots of surprises and even more success. That is certainly the case for King Industrial’s Senior Vice President Sally Tennant.

Sally, originally a Massachusetts native, worked as a social worker for seven years in Boston before coming to Atlanta in the early 1980s for a fresh start. She chose Atlanta for its growth prospects and opportunities, but at the time, she’d had no idea that her career path would lead her to industrial real estate.

Sally’s journey in real estate began as a property manager for a California-based investor who owned buildings near Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport. Together they leased up his buildings.

As Atlanta’s industrial logistics market began to ignite, Sally’s office tenants asked for her help to expand into industrial spaces. Sally responded by getting her real estate license, and in 1999, she joined King Industrial Realty. Sally’s tenacity, consistency and resilience drove her to be a top producer at King.  She was awarded the ACBR Phoenix Award for 10 consecutive years of multi-million-dollar production. In 2015, Sally was selected as a senior vice president and partner of the firm.  Sally also became a member of the prestigious SIOR.

Sally and her career journey have inspired and continues to motivate women to break into traditionally male-dominated industries, such as commercial real estate, and thrive. Sally explains, “Basically, industrial real estate is not sexy or pretty, but now, more than ever, I’ve seen more strong, intelligent, competent women enter the industrial sector.”

Mentoring is key to getting more women onboard in the industry. Sally’s advice to women considering entering CRE: “They should talk to a lot of folks before they make a decision,” she says, “find a mentor to bounce ideas off of, and make sure you’re staying on track, whether it is in the industrial, office or retail field.”

Sally has made a huge impact on King Industrial and its team of agents and staff. She has devoted many years of tireless hard work, negotiation, creating and maintaining client relationships and going against the grain of gender adversity in industrial/commercial real estate. We greatly appreciate her contribution and can’t wait to see what the future holds for Sally and King Industrial Realty.