Movers & Shakers: Boca Raton team joins Compass

Randy Buddemeyer took over Pike Rowley’s managing director role at Avison Young Florida

Marisela Cotilla, Rachelle Hirt-Beresh and Scott Gerow (Compass)
Marisela Cotilla, Rachelle Hirt-Beresh and Scott Gerow (Compass)

A team of luxury residential real estate agents left Douglas Elliman to join Compass.

Marisela Cotilla, Rachelle Hirt-Beresh and Scott Gerow of The CBG Luxury Team, which closed more than $361 million in sales in 2021, joined Compass in late December. The group focuses on Boca Raton, and has worked on sales of Alina Residences Boca Raton, The Bristol Palm Beach, The St. Regis Bal Harbour and the Four Seasons Private Residences Fort Lauderdale.

Real estate attorneys Daniel Faust, Adam Zwecker and Jason Vaupen left Akerman and joined Holland & Knight as partners in its Miami office. Their team also includes associates Kazarae Lowe from Akerman and Lauren Swanson from Katten Muchin Rosenman. Faust, Zwecker and Vaupen are now part of Holland & Knight’s national real estate section.

Native Realty promoted Sara Dorfman and Dan Ross to senior associates at the Fort Lauderdale brokerage after close to five years at the firm. Dorfman focuses on investment sales and leasing, while Ross specializes in investment sales, retail and restaurant leasing. Will Grace, Donnie Jenkins and Stacy Karst also joined the company late last year. Native, led by Jaime Sturgis, recently doubled its headquarters size with its move to a 4,000-square-foot office in Fort Lauderdale’s Victoria Park neighborhood.

Juli Edwards is now director of business development at Leo A Daly, a West Palm Beach-based design studio. Edwards was previously associate principal at PGAL, an international design firm headquartered in Houston, Texas.

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Randy Buddemeyer left Newmark Knight Frank to become principal and managing director of Avison Young in Florida. Buddemeyer will focus on growing the brokerage and property management firm’s business in Florida. He is based in Tampa. At Newmark Knight Frank, Buddemeyer led the property management of investment properties in the U.S and Mexico. He has also worked for CBRE. At Avison Young, he is succeeding Pike Rowley who has been in that position for nine years.

Carlos Alonso, founder of eCondoSystems, joined Spark RE Technologies as strategic product consultant. Spark, based in Vancouver, is a new development transaction software company. Alonso has 17 years of experience in the multifamily real estate software industry and sold his company to MRI in 2017.

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Sterling Organization promoted Jordan Fried to principal of the West Palm Beach-based firm. Fried was previously senior managing director of investments.

Katz & Associates promoted Roxanne Register to senior vice president, and David Eggnatz, Nicole Fontaine and Eric Spritz to vice president, all based in the company’s Boca Raton office.

Daniel Tzinker joined The Agency in South Florida. The Beverly Hills-based brokerage, led by CEO Mauricio Umansky, opened its first office in South Florida more than three years ago. Tzinker has closed deals at the W South Beach, in Indian Creek, at Faena House, the Miami Beach Edition and other luxury properties. He led his own firm, Tzinker International, before moving to The Agency.

Stefano Santoro created his own brokerage firm called Disruptive Real Estate. He was previously with Current Real Estate Advisors, leading its launch in South Florida, and with Apex Capital Realty. 

Grandbridge Real Estate Capital hired David B. Gahagan as senior vice president to manage the firm’s new Boca Raton office. It marks a return to Grandbridge for Gahagan, who spent nine years in between with Walker & Dunlop in a production and management role. Marty McGrogan, Niki Perez, Christopher Hammel and Ariel Zucker also joined Grandbridge as vice presidents.

Illustrated Properties, part of the Keyes Family of Companies, brought on Mohammed Ismail, a top producer in the West Palm Beach market. Ismail’s background is in hospitality, with more than a decade of experience working at PGA National Resorts and Spa and The Breakers. He was recently licensed with Schelling & Associates.

REEF hired Dylan Casey as chief product officer, a role he previously held at Goldman Sachs’ engineering division. REEF operates virtual restaurants, logistics and proximity hubs in North America.