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Who

One of the most powerful commercial real estate brokers in New York, Mary Ann Tighe is the regional CEO of CB Richard Ellis, the biggest commercial real estate brokerage in the country. She's also the wife of uber-plastic surgeon David Hidalgo.

Backstory

The daughter of a Bronx warehouse manager, Tighe didn't start off her career in real estate: After earning a master's in art history, she worked at the Smithsonian in Washington, as an arts advisor to Walter Mondale, and as deputy chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts. Following a stint in TV at ABC (she worked on the launch of cable channel A&E), she transitioned to real estate in 1984 at age 36, having struck up a relationship with then-dominant commercial broker Edward S. Gordon.

For the first few years, Tighe generally handled smaller deals at the agency; after she partnered with the more established Gordon broker Carol Nelson, they orchestrated a number of larger transactions, including the relocation of the IRS to 1133 Avenue of the Americas. Tighe and Nelson split in 1995, but the next year Tighe landed a career-defining deal on her own when she persuaded Doug Durst to develop an office tower at 4 Times Square and then convinced Si Newhouse Jr. to relocate Condé Nast to the new building. In 1999, Tighe was elevated to vice chairman of Insignia/ESG. (Andrew Farkas's Insignia had taken over Edward S. Gordon, Inc. in 1996.) She held that post until 2002, when she took over as head the New York branch of LA-based mega-brokerage CB Richard Ellis, which had acquired Insignia/ESG. She now oversees an army of some 400 brokers, working closely with CBRE global chair Steve Siegel, regional chair Robert Alexander, and vice chair Darcy Stacom.

Of note

When big-time developers want to lease office space in their buildings, Tighe (pronounced "TIE") is very often the woman they call. On behalf of Bruce Ratner's Forest City Ratner, she persuaded Times publisher Arthur Ochs Sulzberger Jr. to relocate the paper's headquarters to its new headquarters on Eighth Avenue. Other mega-developers she's worked with include Harry Macklowe (the former owner of the GM building), Larry Silverstein (7 World Trade Center), and Doug Durst (his forthcoming Bank of America tower). Companies she's worked with to locate office space in the city include Sony, WPP, CIT, Marsh & McLennan, and Limited Brands.

Pet causes

With her husband, Tighe founded the Joan Scarangello Foundation to Conquer Lung Cancer; it's named in honor of her late sister, who died of the disease, as did her mother. She's also on the board of the New York City Ballet, alongside Maria Bartiromo, Daniel Brodsky, Stephen Schwarzman, and Bob Pittman, among others.

Personal

Tighe's first husband was Kevin Tighe, a partner in the D.C. law firm of Tighe, Patton, Armstrong & Teasdale. She's now married to A-list cosmetic surgeon David Hidalgo. She has a grown son from her first marriage, Aaron. Tighe and Hidalgo live on Fifth Avenue, and have a weekend home in Southampton.