Related bigwig Daria Salusbury to start her own firm

Daria Salusbury, a longtime senior vice president at the Related Companies, has started her own firm, she told The Real Deal.

Salusbury led the charge on Related’s residential leasing operations and managed the launch of buildings such as Abington House in West Chelsea, 456 Washington Street in Tribeca and MiMA in Midtown West. She’d been at Related for 25 years and oversaw a portfolio of over 6,000 units. Salusbury left the company in December.

Her new firm, Salusbury & Co., will work on development marketing and branding for developers and consult on anything from site acquisition to marketing, unit mix and sales strategy, she said.

“It’s not exactly going to be a Chinese menu, but I want to be very flexible,” she said. She declined to comment on any specific clients, since no contracts have yet been finalized but said she’s working with a staff of seven.

Salusbury spent most of her career at Related [TRDataCustom]. Her first project for the company was the the Monterey, a 521-unit Property On East 96th Street completed in 1992.

“When I first started working at Related, I would tell people where I worked and they would say, “Related to what?'” she laughed. “In later years, they said ‘wow, you must be a genius.'”

Salusbury said her decision to leave the company came out of her desire to start something fresh after 25 years.

“I said to myself, ‘Let me take a little risk and see if I can help others to be successful,” she said. “I have worked for a developer and understand the developer mentality and having to value-engineer something. I’ve been on the inside looking out so I think I have something to offer.”

A spokesperson for Related did not immediately respond to a request for comment on who would replace Salusbury.