Donald Brennan took a unique path to real estate leadership as a self-trained broker. “I was issued a real estate broker’s license by New York State, having never worked for a brokerage,” he said. “I had completed enough transactions on my own account in my 30s to qualify for a broker’s license.”
Over the subsequent three decades, he has built a brokerage that now spans 90 agents and eight full-time staff members across four locations in the NYC metro area, and plans to double its agent roster in 2026.
One of the differentiators Brennan believes in is the Engel & Völkers “global boutique luxury model,” which he thinks will be more in demand than ever in the industry’s current era of brokerage consolidation. That model includes serving as a trusted advisor with deep market knowledge and continuous professional training, with “a bespoke approach and meticulous care for every detail, ensuring the client’s experience is client-centric, transparent, and built on long-term trust.”
Find out how this New York City broker got his start, and learn about the core leadership principles that guide his success.
Name: Donald Brennan
Title: License partner, owner | Global Advisor
Experience: 30+Years
Brokerage name: Engel & Völkers New York City, Engel & Völkers Brownstone Brooklyn (2 locations) and Engel & Völkers North Fork
Brokerage size: 90 advisors across four shops
Brokerage transaction sides (YTD as of Oct. 21, 2025):
- 274 closed listings
- 30 pending
- 63 active
Brokerage sales volume:
- Closed $100,651,000
- Pending $47,312,000
- Active $111,257,000
How did you get your start in real estate?
I launched my own real estate brokerage after becoming dissatisfied with the sales support I was receiving from an established agent, operating under an established brand, in the marketing and sale of a boutique condo building I developed in Brooklyn.
I did so because I believed I was better equipped to tell the story of why our product was superior to the competition and why we believed we deserved a premium for its superiority. We succeeded by setting a price record.
How did you choose your brokerage
Engel & Völkers is the only brokerage I have been affiliated other than my own. I chose them because the position they hold as the established global luxury brand was a good fit for me based on our transaction price point ($3.5 million average in 2019) and their structure, with small footprints in all the major global markets connected via a truly collaborative network of experienced real estate advisors.
Tell us about a high point in your brokerage career
Executing the marketing and sale of an entitled development site I owned at a price that exceeded the guidance of the commercial agents I considered using by 30 percent. It was a validation that I was capable of selling complex assets in a challenging market.
What’s your top tip for freshly licensed brokers?
Real estate brokerage is a long game that requires you to work on your business every day. Draft a business plan, execute the plan, measure your efforts, repeat. Work for a firm that will hold you accountable, which will help you achieve, and hopefully exceed, your goals.
What makes a good leader?
Good leaders possess a growth mindset. The core beliefs are:
- Malleable abilities and intelligence: The fundamental principle is the belief that intelligence, talents and abilities are not fixed traits but can be developed, nurtured and expanded through effort, learning and persistence.
- Effort is the path to mastery: Effort is viewed not as a sign of low ability (as in a fixed mindset), but as the essential ingredient and powerful catalyst for growth and achievement.
- Challenges are opportunities: Difficult tasks and challenges are embraced as opportunities to learn, stretch your abilities and build new neural pathways in the brain.
- Failure as a stepping stone: Setbacks, mistakes and failures are reframed as valuable feedback, necessary parts of the learning process and opportunities to course-correct and grow, rather than proof of inadequacy.
