FirstService Residential announced that industry veterans John MacGowan and Marc Kaplan have joined the firm as managing directors of its Multifamily Rental Management Division.
In addition to leading the growth of the company’s rental property management business, the duo will provide leadership and operational oversight of FirstService Residential’s current rental portfolio which comprises nearly 200 properties and more than 4,200 units across the five boroughs.
John MacGowan brings over 15 years of real estate and property management experience to FirstService Residential.
In his previous role as a property manager for Rose Associates, MacGowan oversaw the day-to-day management of a portfolio of luxury rental properties in Manhattan totaling over 1,150 units.
He specializes in evaluating and restructuring properties and management operations in order to maximize cash flow and investment return.
Well-versed in the intricate start-up requirements for newly-constructed rental buildings, MacGowan has also led the successful transition of dozens of properties from previous managing agents.
He holds a bachelor’s degree in English literature from Binghamton University.
Prior to joining FirstService Residential, Marc Kaplan spent 12 years as vice president of asset and property management at Stonehenge Management.
In that role, he devised and implemented strategies to reposition assets and streamline management operations. Kaplan was responsible for leading and training a property management team charged with overseeing a 27-building rental portfolio comprising over 3,500 units.
Kaplan’s superior knowledge of New York City’s rent stabilization laws and practices will also be an asset to FirstService Residential.
Kaplan received a bachelor’s degree in marketing from American University and also holds a Certificate in Property Management from New York University.
•••
Corcoran announced the arrival of new agent, Dawn Shicoff.
Shicoff is an operatic soprano with her own Wikipedia page.
A graduate of The Manhattan School of Music, she holds both Bachelor and Master Degree’s of Music.
After graduation, she entered the prestigious Metropolitan Opera Young Artist program and made her Metropolitan Opera debut at the age of 21.
Married to the world-renowned tenor Neil Shicoff, she helped manage his career over the years while simultaneously juggling her own singing career and raising their son.
Her managerial and organizational skills are complimented by strategizing she learned charting her husbandʼs career moves, performance schedules and fees.
Shicoff speaks German fluently and has a good working knowledge of Italian and French. She is a Certified Gyrotonics and Pilates instructor. She is joining the Karen Kelley Team at Corcoran.
•••
Rose Associates has hired Laurel Lantz as director of leasing.
Lantz will be responsible for the supervision of all leasing activities at Rose-leased multifamily properties. She will also have responsibility for enhancing the firm’s leasing program, including the training and development of leasing personnel.
Lantz recently acted as district leasing manager for Related Companies. During her tenure at Related, she introduced and leased five luxury developments comprised of more than 1,300 apartments, as well as managed the sales effort for a 1,500-unit-portfolio in New York City and Boston.
Lantz has pre-development and development experience, having regularly consulted on unit mix, amenity packages and pricing for new residential properties.
She earned her Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of California, Los Angeles.
•••
Douglas Elliman Real Estate announced that veteran agent Roger Erickson is joining the firm’s New York brokerage.
Erickson was previously a top broker at Sotheby’s International Realty and former CBS Records executive’.
With over 25 years specializing exclusively in Manhattan, he has brokered record-setting deals for both buyers and sellers, his client roster includes top celebrities, business leaders and international buyers and sellers from around the world.
Erickson is a graduate of the S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications at Syracuse University, and before entering real estate he spent ten years working at CBS.
He sits on the Board of Directors of the Lavelle School for the Blind, and is a member of the Real Estate Board of New York and the University Club.
•••
TOWN Residential announced that Nicole Hechter and team member Kiera Chaplin has joined TOWN Flatiron, the firm’s flagship office managed by Ryan Fitzpatrick, Managing Director, and Dan Marrello, Leasing Director.
Lika Williams and team members Susan Skinner and Guilherme Castro have joined TOWN Fifth Avenue led by Managing Directors Juliet Clapp and Dorothy Sexton.
With more than 10 years of industry experience, Nicole Hechter brings a respected reputation and award-winning record to TOWN Residential.
Her business has grown primarily through referrals and is comprised of both New Yorkers and international clients, including high-net-worth individuals in finance, law, entertainment and government.
While she specializes in the sale of high-end lofts, condominiums and co-ops, she has transacted at all price points and in all property types.
Ranked by the Wall Street Journal as one of the top real estate professionals of 2015 as well as among the top 1 percent nationwide by Real Trends, she is a Pinnacle Award and Chairman’s Platinum Circle Award winner.
Kiera Chaplin isn accomplished actress and international model.
Fluent in French and entrenched in global cultures, she is the granddaughter of film legend Charlie Chaplin and great-granddaughter of Pulitzer and Nobel Prize winning Playwright Eugene O’Neill.
She has graced the covers of Town & Country and Harper’s Bazaar as well as the pages of iconic fashion magazines worldwide.
She has starred in a number of movies including The Importance of Being Ernest, featuring Reese Witherspoon, Ruppert Everett, Judy Dench and Colin Firth.
She was named as the first world ambassador to the Amy Winehouse Foundation and her work was recently honored by the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization.
Neoly Lika Williams brings more than 18 years of experience to TOWN Residential.
Previousl with Douglas Elliman, she works with buyers in both New York and Miami, and consistently ranking as a top agent within the firm.
She has also been awarded third prize in the “Residential Deal of the Year” category at the Real Estate Board of New York’s prestigious Residential Deal of the Year Awards.
Fluent in English, Portuguese, Spanish and Italian, prior to her career in real estate, Williams worked in industrial design and at a trading company on Wall Street,.
Drawing on nearly 20 years of success, Susan Skinner is a member of the Lika Williams Team.
Her client-centric approach has earned her a strong referral base and awards for outstanding performance year after year.
Focusing on condos and co-ops, both rentals and sales, Skinner specializes in premier Manhattan neighborhoods such as the Upper West Side, Chelsea, Midtown and Gramercy, Clinton, East Harlem, and Central Harlem.
Skinner received a BS from California Polytechnic State University, San Luis Obispo, and an MBA from Pace University, New York City. She also recently received her professional certification in Hospitality Management from The Institute of Culinary Education (ICE) in Manhattan, experience that offers her added insight into hotel/condominium development.
Lika William Team member Guilherme Castro is equally adept at guiding clients through the real estate process whether handling rentals or sales of condominiums or co-ops.
Combining an up to the minute understanding of the real estate market with a celebrated history in customer service, Castro custom tailors an array of solutions to satisfy his clients’ needs.
Originally from Brazil, Castro speaks English, Portuguese and Spanish, and received a degree in business administration.
•••
Charles Rutenberg, LLC, announced the appointment of Ellen Burdette.
She has been in the real estate business as a top producer for 40 years and has recently joined Rutenberg from Halstead.
Burdette lived and practiced real estate in Washington, D.C. for 25 years where she worked with Embassy Diplomats and Ambassadors, as well as government officials.
Laura Lund Burdette, the daughter of Ellen Burdette has also joined Rutenberg from Halstead, where she worked with investors, first-time buyers, sellers and seasoned city dwellers.
Burdette holds a Master’s Degree from American University, a Bachelor’s Degree from UMASS.
