Former Hilton & Hyland President David Kramer Leaves for Compass

David Kramer’s reign as president of Hilton & Hyland is over, with the executive and his team making the jump to Compass.

Kramer’s move, effective Monday, adds a six-person team and career sales in excess of $1.7 billion to Compass’ Beverly Hills office. The David Kramer Group’s book of business includes $316.7 million in active listings, some of which are co-listings with Hilton & Hyland agents.

It’s a big hire for Compass and its first major move locally after announcing this month plans to acquire Christie’s International Real Estate and @properties in a $444 million deal. The deal is expected to close next year.

“This move is about growing my business with a brokerage that has a vibrant and innovative vision,” Kramer said in a statement.

Kramer’s team includes Andrew Buss, Carol Whitley, Chris Evangelatos, Luke Cohen, Roya Sklar and Todd Simons.

“We’ve been appreciative of the work David Kramer has done with Hilton & Hyland and wish him the best in his next endeavor,” Hilton & Hyland Chair Lori Hyland said in a statement to The Real Deal. “We will soon have his replacement.”

For Kramer, the change of scenery ends a nearly 20-year career at Hilton & Hyland, with his name attached to some of the market’s most prominent deals. That includes Spelling Manor at 549 South Mapleton Drive in Holmby Hills. Kramer represented the buyer in the $85 million sale in 2011, which marked a record at that time.

After Jeff Hyland, who founded the brokerage with Rick Hilton, died from cancer in 2022, Kramer was tapped to serve as president.

When former Hilton & Hyland CEO Billy Jack Carter stepped away from the brokerage at the start of this year for a family emergency, Kramer became part of a trio comprising an executive committee leading the firm. The CEO position was eliminated in favor of the committee, which also included Lori Hyland and General Counsel Chrystal Ferber. The brokerage said at the time Carter would continue to serve on a Hilton & Hyland advisory committee.

Incubator

Kramer’s departure is the latest to hit Hilton & Hyland, which has served as a springboard for some of Los Angeles luxury’s most notable residential brokerages in recent years.

Kurt Rappaport and Stephen Shapiro’s Westside Estate Agency brought on Stuart Vetterick in October, with the agent telling TRD at the time his move from Hilton & Hyland marked “the next step for myself and my clients.” Vetterick, along with the Beverly Hills Estates’ Branden and Rayni Williams, represented Fashion Nova CEO Richard Saghian in the executive’s $141 million purchase of the Bel-Air megamansion named “The One” in 2022.

The Williamses left Hilton & Hyland in 2020 after a decade there to start what’s become one of Los Angeles’ fastest-growing boutique brokerages in the Beverly Hills Estates.

Their team, Williams & Williams Estate Group, ranked second in L.A. County with over $1 billion in sales volume across 179 deals between May 2023 and May 2024, according to TRD research. The figures include L.A. County deals on the MLS in excess of $1 million and do not include off-market transactions.

Following Hyland’s death in 2022, co-founder Hilton left Hilton & Hyland to start his own brokerage, called Hilton & Hilton.

There’s also star agent Drew Fenton, who exited in late 2022 to start Carolwood with former Hilton & Hyland marketing chief Ed Leyson. Fenton is now CEO of Carolwood, while Leyson is CMO. The two tapped Nick Segal, who brought experience starting and selling brokerages, to serve as Carolwood’s managing broker.

Carolwood made its entry onto TRD’s list of the largest brokerages in L.A. County this year, ranking No. 8 with $1.6 billion in MLS-listed sales across 290 deals between May 2023 and May 2024, according to TRD Data. The position makes it the largest boutique brokerage in the County during that time period.