Douglas Elliman Names Todd Bourgard Its CEO of Long Island, Hamptons and North Fork

Todd Bourgard, the leader of Douglas Elliman Realty’s sales offices on the East End, received a major promotion last week: He’s the brokerage’s new CEO of Long Island, Hamptons and North Fork.

In addition to the 11 East End offices Bourgard has been overseeing, he now assumes responsibility for the 25 Douglas Elliman offices in the Long Island market. Throughout the 36 total locations, there are more than 2,000 agents.

“Working with Long Island, it’s just a natural transition for me,” Bourgard said on Friday. “I grew up in Miller Place, so I know Long Island very well. I know the agents up there. This is a fun and exciting time for me and for the company.”

Since 1981, he has lived in Hampton Bays. Prior to transitioning to a real estate career in 1997, he was in the Teamsters Union. “I put in low- and high-pressure gas lines,” he said.

Bourgard was with two other real estate brokerages before joining Douglas Elliman in 2014. Douglas Elliman soon named him manager of its Hampton Bays office and said that it quickly became the No. 1 real estate office in Hampton Bays under his leadership. Later, Westhampton Beach, then Quogue and then the entire Hamptons region came under his purview. Just last year, he was promoted to senior executive regional manager of sales for the Hamptons and North Fork.

“When I took over the Hampton Bays office, my main goal was to make that office the No. 1 office in its territory, and that was the goal with every office I took over after that,” Bourgard said. “So it just becomes: You put down your head, you work hard and good things happen.”

He attributes his success to being hands-on.

“I visit all of the offices every single day,” he said. “So it’s not unusual for me to start in Westhampton, then go to the Quogue office, stop in the Hampton Bays office, head out to Southampton, stop in Bridgehampton, to East Hampton and up to Sag Harbor. That’s not an unusual day for me at all.”

On his rounds, he sits down and has conversations with the agents.

“That’s the important part,” he said. “You stay connected with all the agents this way, and it’s a huge part of retention, and a huge part of us being able to go out there and bring new agents in.”

He reports no trouble retaining or attracting agents during the nation’s labor shortage of late.

“Douglas Elliman is a No. 1 brand name out here,” he said. “We’ve established this through the years, so it’s not unusual for me to get a call at any point during the day from an agent from another company that would like to discuss coming on board with me.”

There are two important traits he looks for in an agent.

“They need to be ambitious and self motivated,” he said. “With these two attributes in place, we can teach them to become a good real estate agent.”

He also pointed to the importance of networking and agents’ ability to stay in touch with their “sphere of influence” and the people they’ve done business with in the past.

“The current business we have in front of us also turns into future business, and so that residual business is something that gives longevity to a very good real estate agent,” he said.

Bourgard’s promotion took effect on Thursday, January 19.

“A hands-on leader with a tireless work ethic, Todd is a consummate professional, a positive force, and a great friend,” Scott Durkin, the CEO of Douglas Elliman, said in a statement. “We are proud to have him at the helm of our brokerage on Long Island, the Hamptons and the North Fork.”

Howard M. Lorber, the executive chairman of Douglas Elliman, called Bourgard an integral member of the senior leadership team and credited him with “tremendous growth” in the Hamptons and on the North Fork.

“Under his leadership, Elliman has cemented its position as market leader on the East End of Long Island, with record-breaking numbers in closed sales volume and revenue growth for the last several years,” Lorber said. “He is a highly skilled and valued executive, and we’re thrilled to see him take his talents to the next level with Douglas Elliman.”

Douglas Elliman simultaneously announced that Melody Newberry, who has served under Bourgard as vice president of operations for the Hamptons and North Fork, will be promoted to vice president of operations for Long Island, Hamptons and North Fork.

Bourgard’s predecessor, Ann Conroy, has been appointed the chairwoman of Douglas Elliman Long Island.