Lauren Henss has been promoted to chief marketing and strategy officer at FirstTeam, effective immediately, the brokerage announced on Thursday.
Henss joined FirstTeam in 2024 as vice president of marketing and strategic initiatives. Since then, she has helped shift marketing from a traditional support function to a core driver of growth that connects brand, recruitment, retention, product, technology and revenue, according to the company.
A key focus of that effort has been repositioning FirstTeam from a legacy brokerage into a modern brand that emphasizes both trust and clarity of value for consumers and agents. Henss and her team have led the evolution of FirstTeam’s “Behind the Agent” philosophy into a broader brand platform that highlights agent expertise and stories while supporting career development and ownership opportunities for agents.
The firm said Henss has also played a leadership role in FirstTeam’s digital transformation, helping build an integrated, agent-centric technology stack. That work continues in 2026 as the brokerage expands its use of artificial intelligence, including a partnership with Purlin intended to connect leads, marketing, CRM, operations, contacts, closings and commissions in an AI-powered ecosystem.
Earlier this year, Henss worked with Matt Leone, chief marketing officer at Brown Harris Stevens, to architect and launch a strategic, multi-year brand marketing partnershipbetween the two independent national brokerages. The initiative is designed to expand reach and create additional opportunities for agents and consumers across high-demand markets while offering an alternative to traditional merger-and-acquisition models.
For brokerage leaders, the move underscores how marketing and strategy roles are converging as firms look to differentiate on brand, technology and agent experience rather than only on splits and incentives. Elevating marketing leadership into the C-suite can signal a longer-term commitment to integrated branding, data-driven growth and cross-market partnerships.
This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication.
