Lynnette Abad, Director of Research & Data for the Property Finder Group

When a childhood dream turns to reality, it can be fulfilling right? For Lynnette, it wasn’t just about that. It was about finding a perfect balance between her dream (technology) and her passion (real estate). It was her determination, will power, and the drive to make it happen, and that makes Lynnette inspiring and influential. “All the while I was consulting at Netscape (now called Sun Microsystems), I was simultaneously pursuing my passion for real estate. It was after nearly a nine-year stint at technology when I took a break and got into real estate brokering. However, it was in 2011, when I was in Dubai, I felt it was time to combine my two passions and joined the PropTech side of the industry,” she added.

Proud Moments

A proud moment for Lynnette has been the partnership between the Dubai Land Department and Property Finder. The purpose of that agreement was to create Mo’asher, Dubai’s official house price index. “This took me many years to develop this relationship with the government, and it was a proud moment to see this happen,” she said. And another proud moment was when the JLL Global Real Index report came out, and Dubai moved up three places in the Index. “Thanks to this, Dubai is now at the cusp of transparency. The reason JLL Global did that was because of Mo’asher,” added Lynnette.

Significant barriers to female leadership

There is no denying that this is a male-dominated industry across the world and especially out here. According to Lynnette, the biggest barrier for a woman is her confidence. “I have never been in a position, nor have I seen anyone get rejected because they are a woman. However, it all comes down to one’s confidence and knowledge of their sector,” she said.

Advice

“Do your research, and know what you want to do because this industry is not only open to mothers who want to enter as a part-time employee and even to those who want to get into the corporate or the FM side. Just be confident and be clear about your goal, and the sky's the limit.”