The Woman Who Changed Texas Real Estate
Inside the Journey of Karen Simon, the Trailblazing CEO Behind Simon Realty Advisors LLC
In a boardroom once reserved for men, one woman pulled up a chair and rewrote the rules Across more than three decades, Karen Simon has completed 1,000+ transactions, shaped roughly 8 million square feet of building space, and guided thousands of acres of land deals. As President & Managing Partner of Simon Realty Advisors LLC, she built a playbook anchored in integrity, precision, and service, then turned it into a ladder for the next generation
“Excellence isn’t perfection, it’s persistence with purpose. ”
Karen didn’t start in brokerage. She began in public service as executive
assistant tothe regional administrator at HUD (Region 10), where she handled public and intergovernmental relations spanning Texas, Louisiana, New Mexico, Arkansas, and Oklahoma Federal conflict-of-interest rules barred her from holding a salesman’s license, effectively closing a door she hadn’t even tried to open. Then a Texas bill quietly changed everything: qualified candidates could sit for the broker’s exam without a salesman’s license, pending approval by the state commission
Karen audited her transcript, 57 of 60 hours done Two frantic weeks of day, night, and weekend classes later, she passed the broker’s exam. The license arrived without a roster of clients, but with a runway of possibilities.
At a Christmas party, serendipity put Karen in conversation with an executive from Henry S Miller, then Texas’s largest real estate company. He asked about her experience. Karen was candid: no industrial background yet, but deep management and communication chops. He believed that what she didn’t know technically she could learn quickly
Soon after, Karen was tapped to lead the firm’s industrial and land division in Tarrant County. Overnight, she became the first female industrial broker in Dallas/Tarrant County and the first woman to head a commercial division inside the company
Her first industrial school class? Thirty-six men and one woman. The novelty was obvious; the results soon made it irrelevant.
From Policy Halls to Property Lines
The Breakthrough: A Holiday Conversation
First in the Room, First to the Top
Breaking in wasn’t a headline; it was a workload Karen mastered site plans, truck courts, clear heights, environmental constraints, and the micro-economics of logistics real estate. She memorized submarkets, zoning realities, and municipal rhythms Clients found someone who married detail and diplomacy, the comps and the community context.
Performance followed Karen rose to become the highest-producing industrial broker in the DFW metroplex during her tenure. The point wasn’t that she was the first woman to do it; the point was that she did it better than almost anyone.
“People invest money, yes, but they’re also investing trust. You have to earn it.”
Scale and Scope: The Emersons Era
At Emerson's Commercial Real Estate, Karen served as President & Managing Partner in Fort Worth Emersons didn’t behave like a siloed brokerage; it offered sales, leasing, property management, consulting, and financial analysis, a full stack that matched how clients actually experience real estate
That platform expanded with a 50% stake in 1045, which managed Kroger Real Estate’s nationwide portfolio, approximately 2,800 properties and 80M+ square feet. The operational thesis: standardize complexity, professionalize performance, and treat every address as part of a real neighborhood.
From the same ecosystem came Essential Growth Properties, a grocery-anchored retail REIT. Fund I fully subscribed at $50M; Fund II is targeted $100M The strategy wasn’t flashy: necessity retail with sensible yields, meticulous management, and investor outcomes built for bull and bear markets alike.
The Firm of Record: Simon Realty Advisors LLC
Karen eventually launched Simon Realty Advisors LLC (Fort Worth), affiliated with Woodcrest Capital
The firm focuses on office, retail, industrial, and land, with both leasing and sales capabilities, especially west of Dallas County The résumé is formidable:
1,000+ transactions
~8,000,000 sq ft of building area transacted
Thousands of acres of land deals
Shortlist reputation for complex dispositions (e.g., closed supermarket chains)
A client-service ethic that puts obligations first and owners last, invoices paid, team paid, then owners paid
Karen’s priorities haven’t changed: integrity, diligence, transparency, and responsiveness. She returns calls after hours, walks properties on Saturdays, and answers city council questions until midnight. In a business relationship, reliability is a strategy.
SIDEBAR - Stats at a Glance
Title: President & Managing Partner, Simon Realty Advisors LLC
Specialties: Office • Retail • Industrial • Land (Leasing & Sales)
Track Record: 1,000+ transactions • ~8M sq ft • Thousands of acres
Firsts: First woman to practice industrial real estate in Tarrant County; first woman to head a commercial division at Henry S. Miller
Community: Boys & Girls Club (executive board) • TCU advisory board • Jewel Charity Ball leadership
Consistency beats charisma Karen’s leadership style blends sharp analysis with quiet authority:
Preparedness as posture: Know the zoning, read the deed restrictions, understand the delivery windows, and anticipate the sticking points before the first meeting
Client-first accounting: Financial transparency isn’t an aspiration; it’s an operating rule.
Communication cadence: Return calls, explain tradeoffs, and write emails that reduce friction.
Calm under pressure: In high-stakes negotiations, emotional intelligence becomes a balance-sheet line item.
Her mantra: you don’t need to be loud to be powerful; you need to be prepared.
The Leadership Code Mentorship as Mission
“There are no shortcuts in this business. Excellence takes time, care, and consistency.”
Karen remembers being the only woman in the room, often She insists on making sure the next generation has company. Her mentorship is practical, not performative:
Geography first: Master your submarkets like a native
Product truth: Understand assets down to the slab, what works, why it works, and where it fails
Human math: Ask better questions than your competitors; listen for what wasn’t said.
Career compound interest: Be reliable; reputations accrete the way equity does line by line, year by year.
She answers cold emails, takes student calls, and walks interns through pro formas, base rent, expense stops, TI, free rent, renewal options, all the “silent devils” that live in the details.
The Market Mindset
Real estate cycles reward those who learn faster than conditions change Karen keeps up with the required continuing education, legal updates, and broker responsibilities, but she treats them as a floor, not a ceiling. She pairs the macro (rates, cap compression, supply pipelines, demographic flow) with the micro (curb cuts, plat maps, delivery truck turning radii). Her portfolio perspective:
Industrial: Follows rooftops, intermodals, and the arithmetic of last-mile speed.
Grocery-anchored retail: Resilient, social, sticky. Weekly human need = durable traffic.
Office: The winners create a culture worth commuting for
Land: Patience is the premium. Then the city grows your way.
SIDEBAR, Awards & Honors (Selected)
Businesswoman of the Year, Texas State Women’s Chamber of Commerce
Top Producer honors across multiple firms and years
Named among the Most Influential Women in Texas
Marquis Who’s Who inductee
Featured in regional “Heavy Hitters” and “Who’s Who in Business” lists
ETHICS AS A STRATEGY
Karen turns down deals that don’t square with her standards, even when it costs in the short term Clear, fair terms in every contract Advocacy for small business tenants who lack an army of lawyers Transparency across the lifecycle The reward? Loyalty that compounds, clients who return project after project, decade after decade
WHAT’S NEXT
With Karen at the helm, Simon Realty Advisors explores growth beyond the DFW core, suburban nodes, mixed-use districts with walkable design, and partnerships that sharpen community outcomes She’s collaborating with Texas universities on internship pipelines, widening the on-ramp for new talent The vision isn’t just to expand a firm; it’s to seed an ecosystem
BREAKOUT, THE SIMON DEAL FRAMEWORK
1 Define reality: What’s the real demand driver, logistics, neighborhood needs, or employment nodes?
2.De-risk early: Title, entitlements, environmental, surface the dragons before they wake.
3.Asset truth: Tour it twice, once for what’s there, once for what’s missing.
4.Align incentives: Tenant health and landlord yield must both pencil.
5.Manage the middle: Execution is where deals go to live or die, and overcommunicate
6 Own the outcomes: The lease is the starting line Management makes the marathon
THE LONG ARC OF EXCELLENCE
It’s tempting to define Karen by firsts and trophies But the real measure is the culture she leaves behind, one that says:
Barriers aren’t walls; they’re invitations.
Mentorship turns singular wins into shared momentum.
Service is a competitive advantage you can’t fake.
Excellence is quiet, cumulative, and very hard to dislodge
Karen changed Texas real estate by changing how Texas real estate changes, patiently, rigorously, and with a standard that outlasts market weather The doors that once assumed women didn’t belong now swing more easily That’s not a press release; that’s progress measured in addresses, careers, and neighborhoods
For aspiring executives and seasoned operators alike, her example is both instruction and invitation: do the work, lift others, and let results speak That’s not just real estate That’s leadership with lasting equity today
