Houlihan Lawrence Announces New Executive Leadership Team

RYE BROOK — Houlihan Lawrence, formally announced on Sept. 30 that its current president, Liz Nunan, has also assumed the role of Chief Executive Officer of the 1,300-agent firm.

The residential brokerage firm has also welcomed John Canniffe, who recently served as the head of the Residential Listing Service at REBNY, as Chief Operating Officer. The appointments round out Houlihan Lawrence’s corporate leadership suite, which includes Stephen Meyers as the firm’s longtime Chairman and Andrew Lafreniere as its Chief Information Officer.

An advocate for the firm’s agents, Nunan has proven to be an effective leader at Houlihan Lawrence with a focus on driving growth, while preserving the company’s legacy of exceeding expectations known to generations of buyers and sellers, company officials stated.

Nunan has a long history with Houlihan Lawrence, first creating and growing their relocation and global business development division for 20 years and most recently serving as COO in 2018 and president in 2019. As president and CEO, Nunan oversees all aspects of Houlihan Lawrence’s operations including the brokerage’s residential and commercial divisions across 30 offices. Nunan replaced former CEO Chris Meyers, who retired from the firm in March.

“Liz is a dynamic, charismatic leader who has done an outstanding job of earning the trust of her agents, sales managers and employees and leading them, and the company, to new levels of success”, said Gino Blefari, CEO of HomeServices of America, the parent company of Houlihan Lawrence. “And, with John’s fresh perspective and extensive experience, Liz has built a strong leadership team to guide Houlihan Lawrence into the future.”

“I am thrilled that someone so capable and with such love for our company is our next CEO. For more than two decades Liz has been an integral member of our team and has made an indelible impact on the company,” said Stephen Meyers. “Now as CEO, she will lead the development of the company’s short- and long-term goals and implement our vision for the future.

Nunan began her career with Fox and Lazo Realtors in the Main Line area of Philadelphia before moving to New York and joining Houlihan Lawrence. A licensed real estate broker, Nunan has served on the board of directors for the National Association of Realtors since 2006 and was on the board of directors of the Hudson Gateway MLS from 2014 to 2017. Previously, Nunan also worked at Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.

Canniffe, with years of industry expertise in financial and data analysis, strategic initiatives and executive operational leadership, now oversees the brokerage’s core operations as COO.

“We are proud to welcome John to our team and are confident his professional insight and experience in real estate brokerage will serve as an invaluable asset as the company continually adjusts to an everchanging landscape,” added Nunan.

Prior to his most recent role as head of the Residential Listing Service at REBNY, Canniffe led strategic initiatives at The Realogy Franchise Group, a business unit of Realogy.

“I’m honored to have the opportunity to join Houlihan Lawrence and feel very fortunate to be working with its leading team of professionals,” said Canniffe. “I’m looking forward to contributing to the team in advancing high-growth initiatives.”

Houlihan Lawrence, founded in Bronxville in 1888, has 30 offices and more than 1,300 agents serving Westchester, Putnam, Dutchess, Columbia, Ulster and Orange counties in New York and Fairfield County in Connecticut.