@properties Hires John D’Ambrogio As EVP of Relocation and Corporate Services

@properties, the No. 1 residential broker in the city of Chicago and the largest independent brokerage firm in Illinois, announced today that John D’Ambrogio has joined the company as executive vice president of relocation and corporate services. Company co-founders Thaddeus Wong and Michael Golden said D’Ambrogio will play a central role in growing @properties’ relocation and referral business as the firm continues its expansion throughout Chicagoland.

D’Ambrogio, 49, is one of the most prolific managers of relocation and referral business in the local brokerage industry. Prior to joining @properties, he spent five years as vice president of strategic development for Chicago-based Baird & Warner, building that firm’s relocation department into one of the largest in the region. From 2003 to 2009, he was senior vice president and director of operations and relocation services at Rubloff Residential Properties. Previously, he was a principal in a relocation consulting practice that counted several Fortune 500 firms among its clients.

D’Ambrogio has also served on the boards of the Chicago Corporate Relocation Council, The Advisory Council for Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, and The Relocation Directors Council, and is a frequent speaker at national and international conferences for the brokerage and relocation industries.

At @properties, he will be responsible for developing and managing relationships with third-party relocation firms, overseeing relocation business among @properties’ brokers, and managing broker-to-broker referrals through the Leading Real Estate Companies of the World network.

“As the largest independent brokerage firm in Illinois, and one of the top brokerage firms in the nation, @properties presented a great opportunity for me to come in and build a market-leading relocation business. The firm is miles ahead of the pack in terms of marketing and technology. From my point of view, it’s an easy sell why companies should be using us for relocation,” said D’Ambrogio.

“John is the guy for ‘relo’ in Chicago, and we are going to grow that business exponentially with him at the helm,” said Wong.

@properties is on a sustained growth track with sales volume up 24.9% year to date compared with the same period last year, according to market data from Broker Metrics LLC. Its market share has grown by a similar percentage, 25.4%, based on closed sales volume. While market-wide transactions are down 7.6% in 2014, @properties’ closed transactions are up 18.8 percent year to date.

“It’s important that we grow our relocation business alongside our traditional brokerage business, especially as we expand our geographic footprint,” said Golden. “We believe we can offer a higher level of service to our relocation clients and pick up a lot of market share in the process.”

A lifelong Chicago resident, D’Ambrogio currently resides in the South Loop. He has served as president of the Lake View East Chamber of Commerce and as a commissioner, appointed by former Mayor Richard M. Daley, for Special Service Area No. 5 on Chicago’s North Side. D’Ambrogio is an avid pianist and runner, having completed more than a dozen marathons around the world.