_Exceptional Woman: Meet Georgina Atkinson

Georgina began her Knight Frank career in 2017 based in the Asia Pacific office in Singapore and more recently relocated from Singapore to Dubai in 2021 where she is currently based, in the Middle East office, managing Knight Frank’s U.S residential business across Asia Pacific and the Middle East.

The editorial team has interviewed Georgina to find out more about her life and career aspirations and why she deserves to be one of our exceptional women this year.

Editorial Team: Tell us a bit about your career, why you have joined KF, and your current role ?

Georgina Atkinson: My career began in London, where for six years I had the privilege of working for the Berkeley Group, one of the UK’s leading residential - led developers. Since this point my career has taken me across the world from London to Singapore where I first joined Knight Frank in the Asia Pacific office. After an incredible five years spent in Asia, I was offered a wider role in the business and subsequently relocated from Singapore to Dubai in 2021, where I am currently based, in our Middle East office. 

My role is to manage Knight Frank’s U.S residential business across Asia Pacific and the Middle East, in partnership with our U.S partner Douglas Elliman.  I work very closely with developers to implement and launch our New York, LA & Miami based developments internationally and via our local Knight Frank teams in each respective market. I also have the added benefit of advising an array of individual and private wealth clients from across the world on prime and super - prime investment opportunities in the United States.

ET: How do you ensure you bring your best every day?

GA: My role involves working across multiple time-zones – typically the beginning of my day is spent liaising with colleagues and clients across Asia Pacific, the middle of my day tends to be very much Middle East focused and building our U.S presence here and I end the day on calls with my colleagues and our clients in the U.S. For me it is therefore hugely important to take some time out from work – I am an early riser and like to start the day with some form of outdoor exercise. I am a runner, I like to play Padel, and about a year ago I was introduced to Muay Thai which I also practice regularly – for me exercise and spending time outdoors is key to clearing my mind and starting the morning fresh, which in turn helps set my goals for the day ahead. I am also hugely passionate about what I do and I am very much goal driven – which in itself ensures I am always bringing the best I possibly can every day.

ET: How do you contribute to your community?

GA: I am an ambassador for the Cambodian Children’s Fund (CCF) which is a non-profit organization based in Phnom Penh and one very close to my heart. The charity do a phenomenal job in transforming the lives of some of the most impoverished children in Cambodia, via education, leadership training and direct support programs. When I relocated from Singapore to Dubai, in the summer of 2021, COVID restrictions were still heavily in place. As a result, I was unable to have any form of wider farewell – so instead, myself along with some of my closest friends ran around the island of Singapore to raise money for CCF. We managed to raise over $20,000 which went a long way to help support emergency funding for communities heavily impacted by the pandemic.  It is a huge honour to be directly involved in the amazing work of CCF and we are currently planning some very exciting initiatives for 2022, focused around education and leadership in young people which I am looking forward to being able to shortly share.

ET: Relating to this year’s Women International day theme #BreakTheBias, how do you think you could contribute to breaking the bias?

GA: I count myself very lucky to be surrounded by many incredible men and women both personally and professionally who support and inspire me every day. Real estate has always been considered a male dominated environment – however as a woman who began her career in the construction industry I have never seen this as a hinderance, more an opportunity for growth. I can contribute to ‘breaking the bias’ by leading by example, as women have been doing for centuries and being a positive role model to females in the industry. From a young age I was always taught to believe in myself and that there is no substitute for hard work, determination and a positive, ‘can do’ attitude – therefore I will always strive to bring this mentality to the workplace above anything else.