The Catalyst Team

With over 5 decades of combined experience and dedication to bringing integral people & services together, they utilize their knowledge & insight into the multi-faceted dimensions of NYC real estate to succeed for their clients.  The Catalyst Team was recognized as one of the top 1.5% real estate teams in the United States by Real Trends on their Top Brokers in the USA list for 2022.  This list ranks over 1.6 million agents and teams nationwide.

Founded by Beth Gittleman, Emily Ackerman, and Daoud Heidami, The Catalyst Team is a diverse group with specialties including ground up development, residential sales, investment acquisitions and landlord portfolio management. 

Beth Gittleman - Founder

Beth began her New York City real estate career in 2003 and works as an associate broker.  During her career she also served as the Head of Sales and Development for a boutique brokerage in Manhattan where she spent 6 years creating and building the sales and development department of the firm.  A native New Yorker, she is a resident of the Upper West Side, where she has lived for 26 years. She is known for her work with sellers, developers, and buyers and operates with a simple philosophy that she has dubbed “Couch Karma," which is her belief that no one engaged in a real estate transaction should ever question if they are getting the service they deserve from their broker or brokerage.  Beth is a member of REBNY (Real Estate Board of NY) where she served as twice-elected co-chair to the Upper Manhattan REBNY committee.  She is also a member of NYRS (New York’s premiere real estate designation) where she served on the Executive Committee as the Director of Education. Beth holds a Certified Negotiation Expert designation, and is a volunteer fundraiser for Trinity Place Shelter.

Emily Ackerman - Founder
Emily has over a decade of experience in the Manhattan residential market. Before joining Compass she was a principal with the Ackerman-Heidami Team, a top-grossing team at a boutique brokerage in Upper Manhattan. She also has two years experience as a sales manager for her previous firm where she developed and taught sales education and provided transactional support and mentorship for 125+ agents. Emily holds both Certified Buyer Representative and Certified Negotiation Expert license designations. Emily has a background in the arts and education.

Daoud Heidami - Founder
Daoud is a native Texan living and working in New York for almost two decades. Real estate began for him in alignment with his successful acting career and spans the entire NYC landscape. His successful mentorship and coaching of a firm of agents dovetails into his work with developers and investors whereby he is able to communicate effectively the steps to each goal and inspire confidence in getting there. Known for his savvy business sense when it comes to negotiation and his ability to dissect the objective data of the marketplace, his value to his clients is unparalleled. Prior to joining Compass, Daoud was a principal with the Ackerman-Heidami team, and served as a sales manager for a boutique Manhattan brokerage for two years. Daoud is a Certified Buyer Representative and fluent in both English and Arabic.