Douglas Elliman names Stephen Kotler president of western region

Stephen Kotler’s vacation in Los Angeles is turning into more of a permanent stay.

The former CRO of Douglas Elliman has been named president of the western region, the brokerage told The Real Deal.

Kotler, who had worked out of Elliman’s New York office since 1991, stepped down from his CRO role last January to head the brokerage’s L.A. expansion, opening its West Coast headquarters at 150 El Camino Drive in Beverly Hills. It was intended to be a temporary move at the time. 

With his new title — and with Scott Durkin’s assumption of his former responsibilities as the company’s COO — Kotler can fully focus on overseeing and expanding the firm’s presence in L.A. and Aspen, Colorado, he said.

Douglas Elliman will open its second L.A. office in Malibu in late May or early June, and is eyeing areas that include Palm Springs, Brentwood and Santa Monica for its third, Kotler said.

“New Yorkers tend to migrate” to these areas, “so we go where the clients are,” Kotler said.

In the last year, Elliman’s agent count in California grew from 45 to more than 110, according to the company. In Colorado, there are a total of 48 agents, with 18 recruits in the past 12 months.

“It has been hard to not have a snowplow,” Kotler said of the change in scenery. “There are less suits and ties here — it’s more L.A. showbiz, and we do a lot of filming of ‘Million Dollar Listing Los Angeles’ in the office so there are always cameras around.”