Scott Durkin Named President of Douglas Elliman
Real Estate In-Depth | December 6, 2017
NEW YORK—Residential brokerage firm Douglas Elliman announced on Dec. 4 it had promoted its chief operating officer, Scott Durkin to president and chief operating officer effective immediately.
Durkin, a 30-year real estate veteran and protégée of Barbara Corcoran, joined Douglas Elliman in 2015 as executive vice president of acquisitions and growth. He was promoted to chief operating officer in October 2017. With his new title, Durkin will continue to lead the brokerage, its operations and strategic growth efforts across the United States. Durkin replaces Dottie Herman as president, who retains her position as CEO of Douglas Elliman.
“In the past year as COO of Douglas Elliman, Scott has successfully led several major initiatives to strengthen our brand, our culture and the ways in which our most valued assets, our agents, do business,” said Howard M. Lorber, chairman of Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC. “From forward-thinking partnerships with StreetEasy to another record-breaking year of sales, Scott has proven himself to be a highly valued and respected leader. I am thrilled to make this announcement.”
“My tenure with Douglas Elliman has proven to be my most rewarding professional experience to date, and I am enormously grateful to be able to lend my nearly three-decades of experience to our firm’s exciting culture of entrepreneurialism and forward-thinking leadership,” said Durkin.
Durkin was instrumental in the recently announced partnership with StreetEasy and Zillow to develop an exclusive listing entry platform as well as the leading voice in supporting the real estate aggregator’s new Premiere Agent and rental pricing platforms. He also helped oversee expansion efforts in New York, South Florida, California and Massachusetts as well as the successful re-structuring of operations in Westchester, Connecticut and the Hamptons. Durkin is also responsible for a more streamlined, efficient, creative and productive operations team that includes sales, technology, marketing, legal, accounting, public relations, human resources and facilities.
“I am very proud of the way Scott has grown our brand and strengthened our incredible team of sales, technology, and marketing professionals,” said Douglas Elliman CEO, Dottie Herman. “He is a huge asset, not only to Douglas Elliman, but to the real estate industry as a whole. I knew when I met Scott many years ago that I wanted him with Elliman and I am very happy he is finally home.”
Since beginning his career as a sales agent with the Corcoran Group in 1991, Durkin eventually worked side by side with Barbara Corcoran for many years. He was directly involved in many major milestones, including the sale of the company to NRT and the acquisition of brokerages in the Hamptons, Palm Beach and New York. During his tenure at Corcoran, Durkin also held several corporate positions including chief operating officer and senior managing director of the Chelsea-Flatiron office, which ranked in the top 10 nationwide of all Realogy companies during the 11 years of his leadership.
An avid equestrian with a passion for the dressage style of riding, Durkin and his husband live between Manhattan and upstate New York.