The Beverly Hills-based affiliate of Christie’s International Real Estate appointed Jamie Duran as executive vice president and managing director, the company announced on Wednesday. Prior to joining Christie’s, Duran was affiliated with Coldwell Banker for almost 35 years.

In her new role, Duran will work with Aaron Kirman, owner and CEO of the Beverly Hills Christie’s affiliate, to lead the expansion of the brand in Southern California. In her prior role with Coldwell Banker, she was president for the SoCal region and oversaw a $22 billion business in 2022. 

“We are building an elite alliance with the worldwide Christie’s International Real Estate network that will leverage the exposure of Christie’s auction house,” Duran said in a statement. “The evolution of today’s industry has proven to us that you don’t need to be the biggest to be the best. We are simply focused on offering the best in class service and advisors. When we do that, winning is inevitable.”

Agents and clients of the independently owned Los Angeles brokerage will have access to global luxury connections through the Christie’s International Real Estate network. The expansion into Southern California will also grant more agents access to Christie’s proprietary technology, pl@tform. 

Christie’s recently added other top brokers and agents to its roster, including Cindy Ambuehl, Shelton Wilder, Timothy DiPritzio and Gary Glass. Over the next six months, Duran and Kirman are planning to open offices in Newport Beach, Del Mar, Calabasas, Sherman Oaks, Montecito, Pasadena, Palm Springs and other locations in California.

“The Southern California market is so important to Christie’s International Real Estate,” Thad Wong, co-CEO of Christie’s International Real Estate, said in a statement. “Beyond LA, being able to serve the unique needs of luxury clients in Newport Beach, La Jolla, Palm Springs and other locations is essential to building out our regional network and connecting it nationally and internationally. 

“There is one person we wanted to lead that charge, and that’s Jamie Duran. We have the brand, we have the platform, and now we have the people to be #1 in Southern California luxury.”