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Agents even slightly involved in the industry will recognize Josh Team as a renowned leader at Keller Williams and Million dollar listing Ryan Serhant has participated in countless reality TV shows, not to mention his global online sales show “Sell it Like Serhant” and his eponymous luxury brokerage.
But how well do you know the group of capable women who help make SERHANT a success?
As we celebrate Women’s History Month, Inman seeks to shine a light on the underserved majority in the real estate industry: women.
Natalie Vitebsky, Jennifer Alese, Renee Fitzgerald and Kristen Kipilla are SERHANT.’s core female leaders, helping to build a leadership team that is 55% female. These women help keep companies on track in areas such as finance, new development, strategic operations, design and marketing.
If you haven’t already overlooked Ryan Serhant’s stardom for the entire agency, take a moment to get to know the women who are helping to drive the rapidly growing agency.
Natalie Witbski | Servant.studio
Natalie Witbski
chief financial officer
Natalie Vitebsky is an experienced financial officer who has served in such roles in the real estate industry for nearly two decades, most of that time at Douglas Elliman and Con Compass holds management positions. Prior to entering real estate, Vitebsky worked in financial planning and analysis at Avis Budget Group and Cendant, a global real estate and travel services provider.
Witbeski said women have made huge strides in the industry since their careers began. She believes an emphasis on getting more women into leadership roles and increasing opportunities for remote work can help provide more opportunities for women.
“Having gone through an era where[workplace management]was very male-dominated, now it’s moved to at least 50/50, and I can tell you it’s more collaborative,” Vitebski said. “I think male environments tend to be more competitive in nature. I think the more women there are, the more collaborative and less competitive it is. So I think that creates a better culture.”
Vitebski said that when her career began in the 1990s, she often faced discrimination in hiring because most potential employers thought she would get pregnant and leave the workforce, leaving them stranded.
“When I’m interviewing for new jobs, I’m sometimes told, ‘Well, you’re just going to have one baby and then you’re not coming back,’ even though they’re not supposed to say that — but they do,” Vitebsky said. “It’s difficult to overcome these preconceptions and stereotypes.”
Although she now has more opportunities than before, Vitebski said she still feels like she has to work harder than her male colleagues to get the same recognition and promotions.
“I always had to work harder to achieve what men accomplished by working much less,” she told Inman. “That’s just a fact of life for me. I still work hard — and I do now Probably seven days a week. I’m not sure if that sets a good example for women, but I hope women who come into this industry or any other industry will see the rewards and growth (opportunities).”
Jennifer Allais | Sgt.studio
Jennifer Allais
new development director
Jennifer Alese thought she would be working in title insurance her entire career. But she was drawn to the world of real estate nearly a decade ago when she met Serhant by chance. She joined Serhant’s team at what was then Nest Seekers International, starting with leasing and learning the ropes from there.
When Alese got her first taste of the new development, she was hooked. “I just fell in love with working with developers and being that point person and coming up with creative marketing ideas,” she told Inman. “It’s very different from reselling — you learn a different way of selling the same type of equipment to different people, see how they react to what you say, and change your script. “
New developments in New York City have historically been male-dominated areas, and there were times when Alais felt like she needed to prove herself to everyone.
“The biggest challenge I face is being in a meeting with a table of men and having to admit that I’m the only woman in the room and having to speak up and prove my point,” Allais said. “I think I had to learn quickly how to do that and not feel like they’re going to think I’m inferior to them or they’re not going to respect me. It’s really a mindset change.”
Today, Alese is a key figure in new developments at SERHANT. Manages over $10 billion in new development apartment inventory in Manhattan, Brooklyn and Long Island City. She said she hopes her example will also help more women become interested in new developments.
“I think it’s really important to have more women involved in new developments, even on the development side, because I think sales and marketing and the sponsorship/developer side are still two different worlds,” Allais said. “While I have worked with female developers, it was a great experience to see a powerful woman leading the room as the lead developer, something I don’t think is often possible.
“Even with how we operate as a sales and marketing team, it’s important to always push women forward and into these leadership positions. So I hope leaders in New York and around the world continue to do that.”
Christian Kypila | Servant.studio
Christine Kipira
Creative and Marketing Director
Like Alese, Kristen Kipilla first connected with Serhant in 2015, when he formed the Serhant team at Nest Seekers International. Kipilla rose from graphic designer to design manager to creative and marketing director of the team in less than five years, while also working on marketing for Serhant’s online sales course “Sell it Like Serhant”. Some of the content provided is for consultation with top members.
Today, Kipilla leads SERHANT. ID Lab, the company’s creative agency responsible for creating brand identities for new developments, properties and agencies, also works with SERHANT. A studio that creates film content.
She says it’s exciting to work in such a collaborative, empowering environment.
“(Ryan) really allowed people to collaborate while even making decisions on their own — he trusted our expertise,” Kipila said. “He was basically my mentor in marketing, which got me to this point. So I think him trusting me was an extension of his creative and marketing expertise.”
Since she regularly works with so many women at SERHANT, Kipilla said being a female marketing executive at one of the country’s emerging companies didn’t necessarily seem like a unique position. But because of the stigma traditionally associated with women’s emotions in the workplace, she did sometimes find herself subconsciously trying to suppress her emotions in professional settings.
“Sometimes I try to be less emotional or[avoid reactions that men might judge],” Kipila said. “So every day, I just try to be very pragmatic and logical and try to suppress my emotions as much as possible… I think that’s ingrained in me.”
Renee Fitzgerald | Servant.studio
Renee Fitzgerald
Chief Operating Officer
As Director of Operations, Renee Fitzgerald is responsible for the company’s development and expansion as SERHANT. Expand into different markets.
Fitzgerald doesn’t typically focus on working with mostly female groups, but she said female leaders in companies do have special connections and similar approaches to collaboration that allow them to grow together.
“I think we call each other out and really celebrate each other’s wins,” Fitzgerald said. “This gives us the courage to keep going and share our knowledge with others.”
Overall, Fitzgerald said she believes it’s important for leadership to represent diverse perspectives.
“Everyone goes through a life experience that affects how you perform every day,” Fitzgerald said. “The more diverse your experience is, the better you’ll be able to satisfy your customers and your employees. So (we make sure) we’re drawing on all of them and drawing on the best wisdom, because no one idea is the best.”
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