A shakeup is underway for Douglas Elliman in the West.
Stephen Kotler, a longtime brokerage executive and CEO of the firm’s Western region, is stepping down. Kotler will stay with the firm as a broker, joining his son Max Kotler and brother Michael Kotler on the Kotler Team in New York City, according to an internal memo obtained by The Real Deal.
“We are deeply grateful for Stephen’s leadership and the lasting impact he has made at Douglas Elliman,” Elliman CEO Michael Liebowitz said in the memo.
The executive has been rumored to be on his way out for months amid turmoil in the firm’s presence in the West, which is anchored by California, in addition to offices in Texas, Colorado and Nevada, sources told The Real Deal. He was negotiating either an exit or a new role at Elliman in recent weeks, according to people familiar with the situation.
Elliman also plans to shutter two offices: one in Malibu on Pacific Coast Highway and the other in Pasadena, sources said.
The brokerage did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
Kotler has been at Elliman since 1991 when he established the Kotler Group team, according to his online bio. He led the company’s office at 485 Madison Avenue in New York and also held the title of chief operating officer for the brokerage before relocating to the West Coast in 2016.
Kotler was credited with growing Elliman’s Western region, initially in Aspen and Los Angeles, and oversaw the acquisition of Teles Properties in 2017. Elliman’s footprint grew overnight with the addition of 21 offices and more than 600 California agents.
The Malibu office, across from Carbon Beach, opened in 2017. That closure and that of the Pasadena office will leave the brokerage with nine offices in the state.
Liebowitz is adding new names to the Western region’s leadership, including Catherine Lee, head of Texas new development, who will see added duties as president of brokerage in the state. Bill Begert is staying on as Western region COO and Peter Hernandez as President of Brokerage for California and Nevada, and Joshua Saslove as President of Brokerage, Colorado.
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Kotler’s is the latest executive shuffle under Liebowitz, who stepped into the position in October. Liebowitz succeeded longtime CEO and chairman Howard Lorber, who retired from the firm following an investigation into the company’s work culture and his relationships with brokers, the Wall Street Journal and Bloomberg reported at the time.
The investigation followed news of rape allegations against two of its former top producers, Tal and Oren Alexander. The brothers, along with Oren’s twin Alon Alexander, were arrested in December on federal sex trafficking charges.
Shortly after Lorber resigned abruptly in October, Elliman terminated brokerage CEO Scott Durkin. And in December, Executive Vice President and COO Richard Lampen retired, while remaining on the board.
In the Western region, “Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles” star Tracy Tutor left Elliman in January for Compass, bringing along her 18-person team based in Beverly Hills, Dallas and Austin.
A trio of lawsuits suggested discord among some in the firm’s ranks. The lawsuits included two complaints from former employees and a third from Elliman, all filed in Los Angeles Superior Court in October regarding allegations of kickback schemes involving reality TV stars.
The lawsuit filed by Elliman’s former Portfolio Escrow President William Grasska and the countersuit filed by Elliman were settled in December.
Katherine Kallergis contributed reporting.