Compass boomerang strikes again: HL2R Group returns to Baird & Warner after three years

Call it the Compass boomerang. The brokerage lost a team of Chicago agents who made a round trip back from whence they came.

The five-agent HL2R group is returning to Baird & Warner three years after its signing with Compass.

The group, led by Ben Lissner and Michael Hoover, will be based out of Baird & Warner’s Highland Park Office, where Ben Lissner’s sister Dina Lissner is the managing broker, according to Chicago Agent Magazine. The team, specializing in both downtown and the North Shore suburbs, closed 2021 with about $52.7 million in sales volume.

“We’re excited to return to HL2R Group’s roots at Baird & Warner and grow our team in an environment that’s nurturing to agents and offers consistent support from every level,” said Lissner in a press release.

HL2R Group’s departure is the latest blow to Compass’ effort to acquire and retain talent in the Chicago market.

Tomoko Asai, a top producer who closed one fourth of the Schwabe Group’s $40 million sales volume in 2021, left Compass three days after her group joined the brokerage last month. Asai returned to @properties citing opportunities it was offering to expand her business, The Real Deal reported in January.

Another agent, Marianne Daly, never joined Compass to stay with @properties.

In December, Compass lost a group of agents it recruited three years ago from @properties. Pam MacPherson, who led her team to $100 million in residential transactions in 2021, returned to @properties after fulfilling their contract with Compass.

[Chicago Agent Magazine] – Connie Kim