The previous couple of years have been a whirlwind for trade veteran Lacey Conway. Within the spring of 2024, her household agency Latter & Blum, of which she had been serving as CEO, was acquired by Compass, the place she would later go on to function the executive vice president of mergers and acquisitions. Conway’s latest move as president at Lengthy & Foster Actual Property HomeServices of America brings her again to her roots in regional brokerage.
“I actually really feel like Lengthy & Foster is a bigger model of Latter & Blum,” Conway says in an unique interview with HousingWire. “There’s lots of familiarity with it being this iconic firm with lots of historical past, custom and legacy. I believe I’m in a novel place to honor that legacy and assist them go ahead.”
Pulling from her previous expertise
Whereas Conway acknowledges that the scale and scope of Lengthy & Foster is a bit greater than what she was accustomed to at Latter & Blum, she says she nonetheless feels comfy on the helm figuring out that she has expertise main a full-service brokerage prior to now. She can also be excited to drag from the expertise she gained and classes she realized whereas at Compass.
“I can relate [to] lots of conditions and that positions me properly for this function,” Conway says. There’s a lot to realize from my expertise with Compass, which stays one in all my proudest chapters, and I nonetheless have a lot admiration for what they’re doing and the place they’re going.”
Having been on the within of a significant nationwide brokerage, Conway is hoping that have helps her discover extra methods to leverage the partnership Lengthy & Foster has with its father or mother firm, HomeServices of America, whereas nonetheless retaining the distinctive Lengthy & Foster model.
“Working with M&A at Compass, I’ve this appreciation of partnerships and a progress mindset and with the ability to leverage strengths,” Conway says. “I really feel like there are such a lot of eventualities the place one plus one can equal three, and I believe I deliver that spirit and mindset right here to Lengthy & Foster.”
Prepared to maneuver to the following brokerage chapter
Conway is becoming a member of the HomeServices of America household at a time when the corporate is present process some management adjustments, which started final April when Chris Kelly, an 18-year veteran of the agency, was appointed CEO. Gino Blefari, who had led the corporate since 2019, stepped down and transitioned into the place of chairman emeritus.
“Brokerage usually has been by a little bit of a darkish time the previous few years with the lawsuits and the entire negativity and it looks like at HomeServices we’re carried out with that,” Conway says. “We’re on the offensive now, we’re optimistic, and we’re creating the longer term that we wish as an alternative of getting life come at us. It looks like a brand new chapter.”
Exploring the full-service, one-stop store
At Lengthy & Foster, Conway stated she is worked up to discover and strengthen the corporate’s full-service-one-stop-shop model.
“I really feel like Lengthy & Fost virtually wrote the guide on being a full-service store and actually making an attempt to make the house possession expertise nice by making an attempt to draw the highest expertise,” Conway says. “I’m actually impressed by the seize charges that Lengthy & Foster has with insurance coverage, settlement, mortgage and even property administration. That is actually a rock of this firm that we are going to proceed to fortify.”
Trying forward on the trade as a complete, given her current experiences, Conway is understandably protecting a detailed eye on trade consolidation, a pattern she expects to see proceed at each a nationwide and regional degree.
“I’m bringing that mindset of progress and loving partnerships to Lengthy & Foster,” Conway says. “I believe there are going to be nice alternatives for us to draw brokers, groups and even smaller brokerages that like the soundness, longevity and power that we provide. That’s actually thrilling to me, and I welcome these alternatives. I’m excited for the longer term at Lengthy & Foster.”
