NEWPORT BEACH, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--FirstTeam®, the largest privately held, family-owned real estate brokerage in California, has made significant strides under its newly appointed, all-female senior leadership team responsible for spearheading company growth and achieving $1 billion in incoming recruits in 2024 – an ambitious goal set by Michele Harrington when she was promoted to CEO in late 2023. With these powerhouse women at the helm, FirstTeam has regained the No. 1 market share in Orange County and is launching the “Powerful Women: Redefining Real Estate” initiative to inspire more female agents to pursue leadership positions. While 62 percent of real estate agents are female, only 26 percent of the industry’s leadership positions are held by women. Each boasting impressive resumes of their own, Michele Harrington, CEO; Anna Bennett, VP of Business Development; Lauren Henss, VP of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives; and Hila Pooli, General Counsel, are united by a shared vision to empower females in real estate.
“When I stepped into the CEO role last October, my goal was to assemble the most talented and forward-thinking individuals to guide our brokerage, and it just so happened that the best of the best were women,” said Harrington. “Together, we identified ambitious goals and strategies to reclaim FirstTeam’s position as the go-to real estate brokerage for buyers, sellers and agents, and we are proud to have already accomplished so much in a short time, recently regaining top market share in Orange County along with being on pace to surpass our 2024 goal of recruiting $1 billion in agents and teams.”
Working in lockstep, these dynamic women are optimizing their unique areas of expertise to seamlessly and strategically lead FirstTeam and their growing roster of talented agents into the future. The senior leadership team is made up of the following:
- Michele Harrington, Chief Executive Officer: A U.S. Marine Corps Veteran and seasoned real estate professional, Harrington oversees FirstTeam’s agent-first philosophy and is the principal custodian for FirstTeam’s reputation as a market-leading brokerage firm. As the first female CEO in the company’s history, Harrington is dedicated to building high-performing teams and investing in the growth and success of over 1,800 agents who are the driving force behind FirstTeam’s continued excellence. With a focused and determined mindset, Harrington leverages her real estate prowess and military experience to steer FirstTeam into the future. Also, an esteemed author and speaker, Harrington is set to release her highly anticipated second book, Get Off Your Ass: Use Self Discipline to Have Everything You Want, later this month. This powerful guide offers readers strategic insights into mastering self-discipline and harnessing it to achieve their most ambitious goals.
- Anna Bennett, Vice President of Business Development: With a long and successful history in agent acquisition and organizational growth, Bennett is instrumental in spearheading merger acquisitions and partnership opportunities with larger brokers for FirstTeam while also leading her in-house recruiting teams to attract top talent. Leveraging cutting-edge technology and proprietary training programs, Bennett empowers FirstTeam’s real estate professionals to revolutionize their approach and maximize results. With a career spanning Fortune 500 companies and fast-growing startups, Bennett has successfully recruited talent responsible for over $20 billion in market share, significantly contributing to organizational growth. Her experience at innovative companies like Zip Realty and Side Inc. has honed her expertise in PropTech and SaaS solutions, transforming traditional real estate practices. Bennett’s background, encompassing both large-scale corporate environments and agile startups, gives her a unique perspective on the evolving needs of the real estate industry.
- Lauren Henss, Vice President of Marketing and Strategic Initiatives: With over two decades of visionary leadership and diverse real estate experience, Henss specializes in developing and executing comprehensive marketing strategies, impactful communications, digital transformation campaigns and cross-functional initiatives that elevate brand visibility, attract top-tier agents and expand market share. Her senior leadership roles at Fortune 500 real estate companies, including COMPASS and Toll Brothers, have driven a $2 billion increase in sales volume and a 28 percent boost in market share across Southern California and Hawaii. Henss’s professional influence extends across multiple industries, having worked in both B2B and B2C marketing agencies along with global brands and high-growth start-ups across real estate, technology (SaaS), retail and luxury sectors. At FirstTeam, Henss has established a successful in-house agency model and leads all marketing efforts for the brand and its agents. In addition, she drives strategic growth initiatives in collaboration with the sales and recruitment departments, focusing on revenue generation, agent retention and high-quality recruitment as FirstTeam continues to expand.
- Hila Pooli, General Counsel: Pooli heads FirstTeam’s Legal and Risk Management Department, providing crucial legal guidance on litigation and risk management matters to the company’s corporate team, executive leadership and more than 1,800 agents. Her focus is on ensuring informed, risk-averse decisions that empower agents to thrive and protect themselves. Prior to this role, she successfully represented FirstTeam agents and managers as outside legal counsel with Manning & Kass, Ramirez, Trester LLP. She holds a certified real estate broker’s license and has represented hundreds of clients in the full spectrum of professionals within the industry including corporations, brokers, managers, agents and trustees. Having been recognized as a Southern California Super Lawyer, an honor awarded to only 2.5 percent of attorneys for excellence in practice, Pooli is widely regarded as a top expert in real estate law, bringing a wealth of experience and expertise to the organization.
Harrington continued, “The real estate industry’s unfortunate reality is a disproportionate number of female leaders compared to female realtors, and our hope with this campaign is to paint an inspiring picture that shows women it’s possible to have a fulfilled and balanced personal life while also being an industry leader; our female leadership team is proof that we really can have it all!”
Fueled by its Behind the Agent mantra, FirstTeam is deeply committed to prioritizing agent growth and development above all else - a foundation it maintains via private and independent ownership. For nearly 50 years, FirstTeam has built tenured and illustrious real estate careers through one-on-one coaching, dedicated training, ongoing education opportunities and a proven team model that makes substantial growth possible for all agents. These guiding principles, coupled with the brokerage’s new leadership team, will be fundamental in cementing FirstTeam’s stellar reputation and position as number one in market share across Southern California and beyond.
“FirstTeam has always been deeply committed to its agents, ensuring they have the best tools, strategies and support to thrive, and our newly assembled leadership team delivers on this promise with remarkable force and dedication,” said Cameron Merage, Founder and Chairman of the Board at FirstTeam. “These four women are not only trailblazers in the industry, but also champions of our agent-first philosophy, and I am confident that their complementary skills and united vision will strengthen FirstTeam’s standing as California’s top real estate brokerage and uphold the values that have made FirstTeam a trusted name in real estate for nearly five decades.”
To learn more about the “Powerful Women: Redefining Real Estate” initiative, visit https://www.womenoffirstteam.com/.
About FirstTeam®
FirstTeam® is a premier California real estate brokerage and founding member of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World® (LeadingRE), boasting a near 50-year legacy of excellence and distinguished record as the leader in total unit sales and luxury unit sales in Southern California. With plans for expansion, FirstTeam is guided by its Behind the Agent philosophy providing agents with unparalleled strategic support to elevate client service, build market expertise and accelerate career growth. Since 1976, FirstTeam® has solidified its reputation as Southern California’s largest privately held, family-owned real estate company. To learn more about FirstTeam and to inquire about joining the team, please visit https://www.firstteam.com/schedule-a-meeting/.
