Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the third-largest residential real estate brokerage company in the United States, announced that Melissa True has joined the firm as Senior Manger of Culture and Careers in New York City. In this newly created role, True, an established corporate leader with sixteen years of experience in New York City real estate, will liaise between Elliman’s internal departments to drive agent growth, development, and engagement. She is tasked with managing relationships with both prospective and current agents at every career touchpoint. She will develop and track agent growth, working closely with each office team to maintain Douglas Elliman’s rich culture, enhance collaboration, and support managers.
“Melissa has a terrific track-record of growing brands and agent communities from the ground up and we are fortunate to have her join us in creating this agent focused role,” said Howard M. Lorber, Chairman, Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC. “I truly believe in the philosophy that she brings to this position—that empowering agents to feel connected to a brand and arming them with knowledge is key to not only their longevity with the company, but to the recruitment of new talent and increasing productivity and success at each of our offices.”
Previously, as a founding member of TOWN’s executive team, True played an integral part in the development and execution of the brand and its growth. It was there that she first created this role, in which the overarching responsibility is centered on building brand value through retention, growing agent population, and brand loyalty. As Managing Director of Careers and Culture, True was responsible for integrated marketing, sales, research & development, retention, professional development, education and agent engagement, and the execution of growth-generating strategies. She also curated a meaningful company-wide professional development program with a focus on developing agents’ business. Working closely with managers, she developed and tracked agent growth, created and instituted a uniform onboarding experience for agents, and originated a unique program to successfully keep agents connected to the brand at various points of integration.
“Melissa’s honest approachability, friendly demeanor, and innate ability to understand what people value in real estate and business, as well as in their personal interactions, makes her an invaluable resource to us as we continue to grow out brand and enhance the agent experience at Elliman,” said Steven James, President and Chief Executive Officer, New York City. “I’m so impressed with the way she can excite and empower real estate agents and champion our culture.”
Skilled at forecasting, implementing and managing multi-million dollar budgets and using effective motivation and coaching to drive sales and agent growth, True also brings a strong sense of community and brand awareness with a sharp knowledge of market conditions to her new role at Elliman.
“I am so happy to be embarking on this next phase of my career with a company that so clearly values its agents and is committed to building a brand that will engage and excite the talented team behind it,” said True. “When I shared my vision for this role and what it could be with the leadership at Elliman, it was immediately obvious that they understood the value of it and saw the need to keep their agents supported and well-connected to the company and its culture, which is centered around its agents and steeped in creativity and entrepreneurialism. I can’t wait to get to work out in the field with our managers to ensure the culture in each office is alive and well, and that our agents are taking advantage of the many resources and services Elliman is so proud to offer.”
True’s career spans over a decade, built on a lifelong love for real estate. While still in high school, she worked weekends showing condos, contributing to selling her first apartment when she was just 14. Now an accomplished salesperson, she is proud to have sold over $200 million in residential real estate within the past decade, and is still proud to be “one of those people attending open houses every Sunday for fun.”
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