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Amira Yunis, 36

Executive Vice President

Newmark Knight Frank Retail

Amira Yunis' talent as a saleswoman first surfaced in a sports bar in Queens. She was slinging beer there at night to support her young son when the bar started offering a commission on beer and liquor sales.

"Something just clicked in me," Ms. Yunis says. "I wanted to sell." Using her friendly charm and striking good looks, Ms. Yunis raked in more commissions than anyone else on the waitstaff. Her knack for sales prompted a patron to offer her an office job in property management. She took the position and pursued her real estate license, remembering the $800 broker's fee she forked over for her first apartment in the city.

Ms. Yunis landed her first big office deal, and a $40,000 commission, just seven months after getting her license. That was big money for a woman who grew up as one of the only Latinas in Richfield, Minn. The daughter of South American immigrants had been raised to push herself. After that first deal, the young, single mother poured all of her energy into her new career.

Often the only female broker in the bullpen, Ms. Yunis worked long hours leasing office space and apartments before moving into the retail market. She joined Newmark Knight Frank's retail team in 2000.

Last year, Ms. Yunis brokered a whopping $10 million in business and won the Real Estate Board of New York's Retail Deal of the Year award for putting Trader Joe's into Union Square. She also became the first female principal in Newmark's New York office.

"We expect big things from Amira," says Barry Gosin, chief executive of Newmark. "She's smart, very creative, and she finds different approaches to attack the work."

- Elisabeth Butler

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