Douglas Elliman Names Areeje Akhtar Oriol Chief of Staff to President and CEO Michael S. Liebowitz
Seasoned luxury strategy and growth executive brings deep experience in brand development, brokerage platform building and the ultra-high-net-worth market to Douglas Elliman leadership team
NEW YORK, April 8, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Douglas Elliman Real Estate, the preeminent luxury residential real estate brokerage in the United States, today announced the appointment of Areeje Akhtar Oriol as Chief of Staff to President and Chief Executive Officer Michael S. Liebowitz. In this role, Oriol will work directly with Liebowitz and the firm's senior leadership team on strategic initiatives, organizational alignment and the continued evolution of the platform supporting Elliman's agents and clients worldwide.
Oriol brings more than 15 years of experience in business development and organizational strategy to Elliman, with a consistent focus on businesses serving the luxury consumer. Her career has spanned digital media, global technology companies and residential real estate, where she has worked closely with founders, executives and top-producing professionals to build brands, develop platforms and support growth at the highest end of the market.
"Douglas Elliman's corporate transformation has taken hold, and I wanted someone alongside me who understands branding partnerships, the luxury agent and consumer and the infrastructure required to serve them at the highest level," said Liebowitz. "Areeje brings an exceptional combination of strategic depth, luxury market fluency and operational experience that is directly aligned with where Douglas Elliman is headed."
"Douglas Elliman is one of the most recognized names in luxury real estate, and the firm is at a genuinely compelling moment in its evolution," said Oriol. "I've spent my career working at the intersection of the luxury consumer, the advisors who serve them and the platforms that enable that work. The opportunity to bring that experience to bear alongside Michael and the leadership team is one I'm incredibly energized by. This is the right brand, the right leader and the right moment."
Oriol spent more than six years at Google advising Fortune 500 brands on consumer strategy, brand development and multi-channel marketing. Her client portfolio included Shiseido, L'Oréal, Colgate-Palmolive and Reckitt Benckiser, and her work spanned brand positioning, customer engagement and growth strategy across prestige beauty, luxury retail and premium consumer brands.
She entered residential real estate as the sector underwent rapid, technology-driven transformation, joining Compass where she led growth and market development for the Florida region, one of the firm's most strategic markets during a period of significant expansion. Her work focused on recruiting, brand positioning and strengthening the firm's presence in high-value markets at a time when brokerage platforms were becoming increasingly structured and performance-driven.
Most recently, Oriol served as founder of Assemblage, a consulting practice advising brokerage firms, founders and executive teams on growth strategy, organizational design and platform development. Through Assemblage, she was engaged by senior leadership at Bespoke Real Estate, known for its focus on the $10 million-plus segment, serving in a fractional Head of Growth capacity with a focus on corporate infrastructure, agent platform systems and multi-market scaling strategy.
Oriol joins a roster of industry heavy hitters who have joined Elliman in recent months including Caitlin Chagan, President of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, New York, Chief Strategy Officer Wendy S. Purvey, Chief Technology Officer Chris Reyes, Chief Marketing Officer Natalie Passerini and growth expert Rich Green, as well as top-ranked agents Heather Domi and Samantha Behringer in New York, Dana Johnson in Houston, Megan Sullivan in Greenwich and Christine Krenos and Joseph Zichelle in California Wine Country.
Based in Miami, Oriol holds a Bachelor of Science in Marketing from St. John's University.
About Douglas Elliman Inc.
Douglas Elliman Inc. (NYSE:DOUG) owns Douglas Elliman Realty, LLC, which is one of the largest residential brokerage companies in the United States with operations in New York City, Long Island, Westchester, Connecticut, New Jersey, the Hamptons, Massachusetts, Florida, California, Texas, Colorado, Nevada, Maryland, Virginia, and Washington, D.C. In addition, Douglas Elliman Inc. provides other real estate services, including development marketing, mortgage as well as settlement and escrow services in select markets, and uses as well as invests in early-stage, disruptive property technology solutions and companies. Additional information concerning Douglas Elliman Inc. is available on its website, investors.elliman.com.
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SOURCE Douglas Elliman