Douglas Elliman Lays Off Four Senior Employees

Douglas Elliman laid off four senior employees last week and moved another to a special advisor role, The Real Deal has learned.

The company laid off Sara Kallus-Svoboda, a senior vice president, and Michael Steigman, a senior director, from the firm’s development marketing arm. Jeffrey Stanton, who led agent training and development and Christine Haney, who oversaw relocations and referrals were also let go from Elliman.

A spokesperson for Douglas Elliman said the “strategic changes” were made for the sake of “operational efficiency.”

Leslie Wilson, a senior executive vice president and managing director at Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, will transition to a special advisor role with DEDM.

Employees reporting up to those senior-level employees were also let go, according to a source familiar with the matter. A spokesperson for Douglas Elliman declined to confirm the number of employees affected.

The layoffs, which internally were referred to as an “organizational restructuring,” are the latest in a series of recent personnel changes for the brokerage.

Earlier this month, Elliman’s chief marketing officer, Stephanie Garbarini, exited the firm after six years. She was replaced by Natalie Passerini, who had previously served as the vice president of marketing at the firm.

The personnel shuffle isn’t limited to departures. In November, Elliman promoted Wendy Purvey, out of South Florida, to chief strategy officer and filled its long-vacant chief technology officer position with a new hire from Brown Harris Stevens, Chris Reyes.

Liebowitz, who took over as president and CEO last year after Howard Lorber resigned, has tried to distance himself from his predecessor, noting that his tenure will be “a departure from the past and a new generation of leadership.”

In October, the company announced the sale of its property management arm for $85 million, which Liebowitz at the time said was part of the company becoming a pure-play brokerage offering in an effort to gin up its brand recognition.

“It’s all about our brand, and getting paid for our brand,” Liebowitz previously told TRD.
Katherine Kallergis contributed reporting.