Douglas Elliman CEO Dottie Herman To Step Down From Leading Brokerage

Douglas Elliman Chief Operating Officer and President Scott Durkin is moving up to the top job as longtime CEO Dottie Herman steps back.

The New York brokerage announced the personnel change Tuesday, including Herman's new role of vice chair, and said it was effective immediately.

“Douglas Elliman has proven to be my most rewarding professional experience to date,” Durkin said in a statement.

He joined the firm in 2015 and was appointed COO a year later. He told Bloomberg that Herman had played a role in his appointment to the company.

“I look forward to expanding upon the legacy of our brand built by my friend and mentor Dottie Herman as the market leader in luxury real estate," he said. "I also welcome the opportunity to further advance our technology-focused initiatives that allow our agents to work faster and more efficiently on behalf of their customers and clients.”

Douglas Elliman said Herman would serve in an “advisory capacity” to Durkin and Chairman Howard Lorber and will continue mentoring agents. Douglas Elliman closed just short of $43B in sales in the year leading up until June 30, per the company statement. Herman partnered with Lorber to buy Elliman in 2003, but she sold her 29% stake to Lorber’s Vector Group in 2018 for $40M.

The firm has some 7,000 agents, per Bloomberg, making it one of the biggest brokerages in New York. Late last month, Herman told Fox Business crime was a rising problem in the city, and that people are “afraid to walk in the city.”  

In a statement from the brokerage, Herman said it was a “thrill” to pass her CEO title to Durkin and that the firm is in “capable hands.”