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In October, Michael S. Leibowitz became CEO and chairman of Douglas Elliman following the retirement of Howard Lorber. Mr. Leibowitz has served on Elliman’s board since it went public in late 2021 and has experience in insurance and finance.
On Friday, the CEO made his debut on stage at Inman Connect New York and seemed excited about the future ahead with Douglas Elliman.
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Michael S. Leibovitz | Douglas Elliman
“It seemed like an exciting opportunity,” Leibowitz told host and Era Ventures managing director Clelia Peters about the move to CEO. “Our brand is synonymous with luxury real estate and we believe it is the best brand in the world.
“We thought there was a real opportunity to take that brand to the next level.”
Coming from a non-real estate background, Leibovitz said the industry is “on the brink of really big change, but I also think it’s going to remain somewhat traditional.”
Leibowitz added that Douglas Elliman is focused on technology and data that makes agents’ lives easier in order to be the “expertise leader” in the business.
But the human side of wanting an agent to represent a customer’s best interests and be there to explain prices and home values will never go away, Leibovitz added.
“Negotiations are always going to be human. You always want to have a good agent negotiating for you,” he said.
“We put the client first and always focus on what’s right for the client,” Leibowitz continued, adding that agents can have hard data to back up what they’re advising. .
Peters pointed out that serving on a company’s board and serving as CEO are two very different things.
“I think I said it. [being on the board is] “It was like trying to get a ground team out of a helicopter,” Leibovitz said, recalling their backstage conversation. “I learned real lessons as a board member.
“When I was on the board, I had a lot of ideas. I was definitely on the board…but as a board member, you have to get management to execute the actual strategy.”
As CEO, Leibowitz said he pays much more attention to competitors than he did as a board member. He was intrigued by the seeming focus of some companies on “aggregating” large numbers of agents.
For Douglas Elliman, it’s important to be agile now as the industry continues to transform in the post-settlement landscape.
With an increased focus on collaboration, connectivity and culture, Leibovitz said, “We’re going to be a really well-regarded and trusted disruptor.” The company is also working to help agents increase gross commission income (GCI), he explained. “That’s what splitting an agency is like, but companies have a responsibility to work within the bounds of reality.”
While Douglas Elliman has goals for 2025, Liebowitz added that the company is really playing the long game and looking at where it can be successful in 10 years. Part of the plan is to involve agents more in management’s decision-making process by making it easier for management to have conversations and establishing various committees that can consider input from a field perspective. There is.
“So what you’re talking about is a culture change,” Peters said, noting that historically Loeber was known to have made many unilateral decisions with brokerages. He pointed out that.
“I’m a much different leader,” Leibovitz admitted. “I’ve always done this. I’m not just adapting to the business that we’re in…This is my brain trust and this company is not going to be run in an autocratic way. No — we want more guys on the field.”
Leibowitz said one of the things that makes Douglas Elliman a strong brand is its team of agents. In contrast to what some brokerage CEOs have heard discussed during previous Inman Connect New York panels, Leibowitz said the brokerage’s team has positioned the company as a leader in the luxury goods industry. He said that he had contributed to boosting the
“Our team is in the upscale market,” he said.
Teams’ entrepreneurial spirit has also been a big part of the company’s success, Leibowitz continued, and the company plans to focus on that going forward. Leibowitz said the brokerage is also working to localize and “entrepreneurize” different regions across the U.S., saying it’s “less corporate and localizing where we’re going, and more about the people who are there.” “It gives a lot of leadership.”
He said the model they are currently shooting is a hybrid model that is not a true franchise or license, but said that is still up for discussion.
“[Different regions are] His decision-making ability will improve and he will have more skin in the game,” Leibovitz said. “The other thing is we’re willing to do different deals in different geographies. So we’re going to be very nimble in how we structure things internally.”
But ultimately, Leibowitz said, the goal is for others to equate Douglas Elliman’s brand with “expertise,” from data analytics to highly skilled agents to a first-class culture. spoke.
“I think we’re synonymous with luxury real estate all over the world,” he added, noting that when his appointment as CEO was announced, people in Paris and across Europe asked why Douglas Elliman was still CEO. He pointed out that he had been asked if this had happened. Presence in the region. It gave him something to think about.
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