After successfully heading the local real estate brokerage leader Houlihan Lawrence for 27 years, Nancy Seaman, a Greenwich resident, has announced that she will be stepping down as Chairman.
Houlihan Lawrence, founded in Bronxville by William Lawrence in 1888, serves Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Orange, and Ulster counties in New York, as well as Fairfield County in Connecticut.
Seaman, who acquired the company with her late husband Peter Bailey Seaman in 1990, has accepted an offer from HomeServices of America, a Berkshire Hathaway affiliate owned by American business mogul Warren Buffett. According to the Houlihan Lawrence blog, Buffett is a friend and business associate of Seaman’s husband Alan Schwartz of Guggenheim Partners. And while the transaction was announced Tuesday, exact financial terms of the deal have not been disclosed.
After her late husband died of cancer in 1994, Seaman took control of Houlihan Lawrence and, with the help of her brothers Stephen and Chris Meyers, went on to double the company’s roster of agents and offices. During her tenure, the company’s annual sales volume rose from $375 million to $6.7 billion in 2016.
“If not for my departure, you wouldn’t know there was a change in ownership,” says Seaman.
Seaman and her two brothers, Stephen and Chris Meyers. |
Seaman’s brothers will continue to play a role in the firm’s strategic growth initiatives and day-to-day operations. Seaman herself aims to fulfill her passion for the nonprofit sector, working immediately in children’s advocacy and continuing to serve on the board of HELP USA, a leading national housing and homeless services organization.
“I truly love and believe in this company, and am confident this decision guarantees Houlihan Lawrence as we know it… will be around for the next 125 years,” says Seaman.