Nikol Solares Returns to Douglas Elliman from Compass

New development marketing executive Nikol Solares is back at Douglas Elliman in Miami.

Solares left the firm in January to join Compass as its senior managing director of new development marketing. She had been a senior vice president of sales at Elliman’s development marketing arm in Miami for nearly seven years.

As of Friday, Solares is a executive vice president of sales and strategy at Elliman, according to a spokesperson. Solares said Compass wasn’t the right fit for her.

“Douglas Elliman is home. My team is second to none. I love the culture, friendship, connectivity, entrepreneurship of it all,” she said. “I’m excited to get back to what I believe are the best new development projects in Florida.”

Michael Liebowitz, who became CEO of Douglas Elliman late last year after Howard Lorber resigned suddenly in October, said Solares was looking to return, and that Compass “was not for her.”

“Our culture is significantly better,” Liebowitz said. “You can’t take any agents, no matter what, continue to add them and have a great culture. It doesn’t work.”

Compass has been expanding. In South Florida, Miltiadis Kastanis and Pablo Alfaro, both agents with new development experience, joined Compass from Elliman in recent weeks. Alfaro had been with Elliman for 14 years, while Kastanis had seven years with Elliman.

New York-based Dennis Mangone recently left Elliman after more than a decade to grow Compass’ new development marketing business in New York and South Florida. Mangone developed a reputation for working with developers such as Steve Witkoff, hotelier Ian Schrager and Alan Faena.
Elliman, meanwhile, brought on Drew Backoff as vice president of marketing for new development. Backoff was previously a senior leader at Compass’ development marketing arm.