Willa McNamarra

Executive Vice President

Beitler Commercial Realty Services

Claim to Fame: Leasing office space to entertainment firms

Her boss calls Willa McNamarra an “entertainment guru” because so many of her clients have been in the film and recording industry.

Over the past 20 years, she has helped find office space for the likes of Buena Vista Pictures, Dreamworks Records, Miramax/Outerbanks Entertainment, Motown Records and Tribune Broadcasting.

“Willa has relocated several entertainment clients more than three times each over the years,” says Barry Beitler, president of Beitler Commercial Realty Services. “She does monster business.”

An executive vice president at Beitler since 1980, McNamarra has been named its top broker in nine of her 19 years with the firm. She also handles commercial property deals for a number of law firms and financial services.

Despite her success, she doesn’t like to discuss details of her deals and said she hasn’t calculated the total value of her transactions. “I’m not a promo kind of person,” McNamarra said. “And I don’t like to tell who I’m working with.”

Still, her work is well known among commercial property brokers.

“She’s a formidable competitor,” said Mike DeSantis, vice president at Cushman Realty Corp. “She specializes in working with big entertainment clients, which in Los Angeles is about as good as it gets.”

McNamarra acknowledges that she still must battle sexism within the profession. “It’s still a real boy’s game,” she says. “I have to continue to fight this uphill battle.”

In the process, she has earned the respect of lots of male colleagues. “She has the strength and determination to persevere through the hardships of commercial real estate,” said Tim Macker, president of Westmac Commercial Brokerage Co. “She’s very hard working and committed to the profession.”

McNamarra is currently the leasing agent for three large commercial projects on the Westside: 9701 Wilshire Blvd., a 110,000-square-foot building in Beverly Hills; 407 Maple Drive, a 160,000-square-foot building to be constructed in Beverly Hills; and Santa Monica Studios, a 400,000-square-foot development to be constructed at 30th Street and Olympic Boulevard in Santa Monica.

McNamarra, who majored in English and art history at USC, never dreamed of entering the real estate business until she inherited commercial property on Waikiki Beach. While learning to manage that property she developed an interest in real estate, even though the building was bringing in enough money to allow her to stop working if she had so chosen.

“I never needed to work,” she said.

Rebecca Kuzins