Halstead Property

Diane M. Ramirez
President
dramirez@halstead.com
(212) 381-3203

The Rebranding Of Halstead

BY PRANAY GUPTE - Special to the Sun

March 2, 2006

Diane Ramirez is in a rebranding mode these days.

"Well, to be precise, it's our company that's launching a rebranding

campaign next month," the president of Halstead Property said

yesterday. "We've been reviewing what makes us different in the real

estate marketplace, and which strengths we should be displaying even

more."

Those strengths include longevity; Halstead is in its 23rd year of

business as a brokerage that offers apartments and townhouses for New

Yorkers. They include 10 storefront offices in the city. They include a

staff of 500 men and women. And Halstead's strengths include sales of

more than $1.5 billion annually.

There is more.

Her company now operates under the umbrella of Terra Holdings, which

Ms. Ramirez characterizes as the "standard bearer of many great New

York real estate traditions since 1873." Terra's principals include

real estate luminaries such as David Burris, Kent Swig, Arthur

Zeckendorf, and William Zeckendorf.

As if that weren't enough good company, Ms. Ramirez has another man

to whom she's extremely close - albeit one who isn't involved with her

professionally. He is Samuel Ramirez, one of the country's best-known

investment bankers and equity specialists. They've been married for

three decades, and are widely known around New York as a power couple.

That kind of reputation may not necessarily result in more sales for

Ms. Ramirez, but it doesn't have to. She's achieved that special status

where being a broker is consigned to her resume.

As Halstead's president, Ms. Ramirez has focused on enhancing the

company's visibility and track record. She has transformed Halstead

into one of the fastest growing brokerage firms in the city. And she

serves on the board of governors of the Real Estate Board of New York.

"Running a company doesn't mean only increasing its revenues," Ms.

Ramirez said. "Equally importantly, it involves building the staff,

listening to your colleagues, and helping them to develop their careers

in a way that meets their personal aspirations as well as the company's

objectives."

Those words might sound as though they were extracted from a business school compendium.

But Ms. Ramirez did not learn her management theories in any

academy. She said that her first teacher was her father, a city bus

driver names James Dolan, who imbued in her an enduring work ethic. Her

mother, Adele, also first-generation Irish, instilled self-confidence,

Ms. Ramirez said.

"I had two older brothers and a younger sister and brother," she said. "But I was always the take charge person at home."

That meant being active in sports and charitable activities,

passions that are still part of her daily life. It meant setting out

early in life to be financially independent.

From a job at Chesebrough-Pond, she moved into a marriage with

Samuel Ramirez. They moved to Florida where their two children were

born and where Ms. Ramirez entered real estate.

"Florida is one of the toughest states to get a real estate license," Ms. Ramirez said.

But she realized that she had found her metier.

"I loved everything about the business - dealing with people, the

advertising, marketing, and understanding how much it means for a

person to invest in a home," Ms. Ramirez said.

Her dedication to carving her own reputation was accelerated by the

fact that, concurrently, her husband was rapidly gaining prominence in

the investment community, particularly in servicing the pecuniary needs

of fellow Hispanics.

"I realized that I had to create my own horizons," Ms. Ramirez said,

"that I had to build my own independent reputation as a professional in

real estate. I needed to meet my own goals, and not be just an

appendage to a successful spouse."

By the time she and her husband moved back to New York, her reputation in real estate had become formidable.

"But that did not mean that I was a professional first and a mother

second," Ms. Ramirez said. "I did not want my children to suffer in any

way because I was out there pursuing my ambition. I was always a

hands-on mother."

The dual duties may have fazed many, but it seemed to energize Ms. Ramirez. She quickly rose in New York's real estate business.

That rise was, to be sure, assisted by the fact that she and her

husband enjoyed access to the highest echelons of New York society.

"But I wasn't a social butterfly," Ms. Ramirez said. "I worked very

hard at being knowledgeable about the business side. No detail was too

small for me to study."

She was working with a company called Key Ventures at this point.

Ms. Ramirez then decided that she wanted to start her own real estate

business.

"I was very keen on opening my own firm," she said.

One of her friends, who happened to be a lawyer, alerted her to the

fact that a man named Clark Halstead was also thinking about opening

his own firm. Why not team up with him, the friend said?

Ms. Ramirez met Mr. Halstead for tea at his club.

"We had the same goals - we both wanted to create a first-class firm

that used the best in technology and the best staff to provide the best

service possible for New Yorkers."

"But there was one important difference between his plans and mine,"

she said. "He had venture capital behind him, and I didn't."

And that's how Ms. Ramirez and Clark Halstead teamed up at Halstead Property in 1984.

She worked initially as a selling broker. She consistently ranked in

the top 5% of the firm's brokers and was the winner of many company

awards. In 1988 she was the recipient of the Real Estate Board of New

York's "Deal of the Year" award.

In 1987, Ms. Ramirez became director of sales. She was promoted to

be executive director of sales in 1993; and then she became president.

So what will Halstead's rebranding be all about, the reporter asked her yesterday?

"About an even more productive future," Ms. Ramirez said.

Thursday, March 02, 2006