Stephen T. Larkin
About Stephen T. Larkin
Stephen T. Larkin is Vice President of Communications and Executive Vice President, Chief Communications Officer at Douglas Elliman, with more than two decades in real estate communications; he previously led PR at The Corcoran Group and served as a principal at Larkin Public Relations. He holds a BA from Wheaton College (MA) and an MS from Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism . Company performance context during his tenure: revenues stabilized and rose 4% in 2024 vs 2023 amid industry headwinds , while net income remained negative and TSR declined over 2022–2024, aligning with compensation actually paid trends .
Past Roles
| Organization | Role | Years | Strategic Impact |
|---|---|---|---|
| Douglas Elliman | Executive Vice President & Chief Communications Officer | Sep 2020–present | Led enterprise communications; trusted media source on luxury living, market analysis |
| Douglas Elliman | Vice President, Public Relations | Dec 2016–Sep 2020 | Built PR function through growth cycle; brand positioning across luxury markets |
| Relevance International | Director | Feb 2015–Dec 2016 | Ran PR mandates for luxury/real estate clients; global media relations |
| Larkin Public Relations | Principal | Oct 2005–Feb 2013 | Founded/led boutique PR; advisory on market positioning |
| The Corcoran Group | Vice President | Aug 2003–Oct 2005 | Senior PR leadership in major brokerage; elevated brand voice |
External Roles
No public company board directorships or external committee roles disclosed for Larkin .
Fixed Compensation
| Component | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|
| Base Salary ($) | — | 340,000 |
| Target Bonus (%) | — | Not disclosed; no annual performance targets set for 2024 |
| Actual Bonus Paid ($) | — | 50,000 (paid in 2025) |
| Perquisites/Other ($) | — | 5,100 (401(k) contributions) |
Notes:
- The company disclosed “no annual performance-based targets set in 2024,” indicating discretionary cash incentives for the year .
Performance Compensation
| Incentive Type | Metric | Weighting | Target | Actual/Payout | Vesting |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Annual Cash Incentive | Performance-based (none set in 2024) | Not disclosed | Not set | $50,000 | N/A |
| RSU Grant (2/29/2024) | Service (continued employment) | Not disclosed | N/A | Grant-date FV $91,500; 50,000 shares | 4 equal annual tranches; first tranche vested 12/15/2024; remaining tranches on 12/15/2025, 12/15/2026, 12/15/2027 |
| Stock Vested (2024) | RSUs vesting | N/A | N/A | 38,750 shares; $77,984 value realized at vest | Vested on 12/15/2024 |
Equity Ownership & Alignment
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Total Beneficial Ownership | 112,367 shares; less than 1% of outstanding |
| Unvested/Subject to Vesting | 76,875 shares subject to vesting restrictions |
| Outstanding RSU Tranches | 13,125 shares (final vest 12/15/2025) ; 26,250 shares (vests 12/15/2025 & 12/15/2026) ; 37,500 shares (vests 12/15/2025, 12/15/2026, 12/15/2027) |
| Shares Pledged as Collateral | Prohibited under Equity Retention, Hedging & Pledging Policy; no pledging disclosed |
| Hedging | Prohibited |
| Ownership Guidelines | NEOs required to hold 1.0x base salary; CEO 3.0x, EVP 1.5x. Executives must retain at least 25% of net shares from awards until age 60 |
| Insider Trading Controls | Trading windows, mandatory pre-clearance, special closed windows; 10b5-1 permitted with cooling-off and pre-approval |
Employment Terms
| Term | Detail |
|---|---|
| Employment Agreement | None; Larkin does not have an employment agreement |
| Severance Provisions | None; no payments due upon termination |
| Change-of-Control | Not disclosed for Larkin |
| Non-Compete/Non-Solicit | Not disclosed; company-level policy references governance resources but no executive-specific non-compete disclosed for Larkin |
| Clawback Policy | NYSE Rule 10D-1 compliant recovery of erroneously awarded incentive compensation upon required restatement |
| Insider Trading Policy | Prohibits hedging, pledging, short sales, and margin pledges; pre-clearance and trading windows apply |
Company Performance Context (during Larkin’s senior communications tenure)
| Metric | FY 2022 | FY 2023 | FY 2024 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Value of $100 Investment (TSR) | $36.83 | $28.50 | $16.13 |
| Net Income (loss), $ thousands | (5,622) | (42,552) | (76,316) |
| Revenue Trend | — | — | Revenues +4% vs 2023 |
Additional Governance and Compensation Framework Signals
- Compensation committee redesigned CEO pay structure in late 2024 to increase at-risk equity (PSUs tied to multi-year stock price hurdles and time-based RSUs) and reduced perquisites; broader executive policies include 25% hold-until-retirement and hedging/pledging prohibitions .
- Equity plan availability: 6,033,339 unvested restricted shares across executives as of 12/31/2024; shares available for future issuance under plans and ESPP increased in 2025, supporting ongoing equity-based incentives .
Investment Implications
- Alignment: Larkin’s compensation is modest and primarily time-based RSUs plus discretionary cash, with strong alignment controls (25% retention, hedging/pledging bans, trading windows), reducing misalignment risk and tempering near-term selling pressure .
- Supply overhang: Scheduled RSU vesting of tranches through 2027 creates predictable potential supply; retention policy and pre-clearance windows mitigate immediate sell pressure, but watch annual December 15 vest dates for potential incremental liquidity .
- Retention risk: With no employment agreement or severance economics, retention relies on role fit and ongoing equity incentives; however, communications leadership is less incentivized by variable pay vs CEO/CFO structures, suggesting moderate retention risk unless equity refresh slows .
- Performance linkage: 2024 lacked defined annual performance metrics for NEO cash bonuses; investor preference typically favors clearer pay-for-performance. Company TSR and net income weakness may argue for tighter metric-setting for non-PEO NEOs to strengthen alignment .