Houlihan Lawrence has appointed two regional vice presidents, a new chief financial officer and two regional managers to its executive team.
Deborah Doern and Jeff Kelly—both brokerage managers from the firm’s Larchmont and Darien offices, respectively—were promoted to serve as regional vice presidents on the brokerage management team, representing the firm’s 30 offices and 1,300 agents throughout Connecticut and Westchester County and Hudson Valley, N.Y.
“Jeff and Debbie are widely respected in the real estate industry as top-notch sales executives who know how to build, lead and develop winning teams of agents. In their new roles they will manage our world-class team of brokerage managers,” states Houlihan Lawrence President Chris Meyers.
A 35-year real estate veteran, Doern joined Houlihan Lawrence in 2007 as a Rye/Harrison, N.Y., brokerage manager before transferring to the Larchmont, N.Y., office, also as brokerage manager, in 2011, where the office has been consistently been ranked No. 1 under her leadership. Doern started her career at her family’s real estate appraisal firm in 1996 before transitioning to the sales side of the business, originally becoming a consistent top producer in the Sound Shore region. She also previously ran offices in Larchmont and New Rochelle, N.Y., for another brokerage.
Kelly, a third-generation native of Darien, Conn., and brokerage manager of Houlihan’s Darien office, was the longtime head of Kelly Associates Real Estate, Houlihan Lawrence’s first independently-owned broker affiliate, acquired in 2015. Under his leadership, Kelly Associates expanded to Rowayton, Conn., and acquired New Canaan, Conn., brokerage Brotherhood & Higley. Prior to entering the real estate industry in 2005, Kelly served as a New York City attorney specializing in mergers and acquisitions.
New CFO hire Terry Kearney, a former Big Four accounting group employee and financial consultant, is now overseeing the brokerage’s strategic financial planning. Kearney brings years of industry expertise specializing in financial planning, analysis, budgeting and forecasting, having worked most recently as a full-time consultant for Better Homes and Gardens Real Estate Rand Realty. Prior to this, she worked for 25-plus years with Realogy Holdings Corp. serving in a number of roles, including regional director of Finance for NRT Eastern Seaboard and vice president, director of Finance, for Burgdorff ERA. Before entering the real estate industry, she began her career on the audit staff at Ernst & Young.
The executive appointments also include the promotions of Barry Graziano and David Haffenreffer to regional managers. In addition to managing the Armonk and Croton, N.Y., offices, Graziano will become an official advisor to the Briarcliff Manor and Chappaqua, N.Y., offices. Haffenreffer, who currently oversees Houlihan Lawrence’s two Greenwich, Conn., offices, will additionally advise the Rye and Larchmont offices.
For more information, please visit www.houlihanlawrence.com.
