Baird & Warner names Lucy Baird chief stewardship officer, Laura Ellis chief revenue officer

Lucy Baird has been named chief stewardship officer and vice chair of the board at Baird & Warner, while Laura Ellis has been promoted to chief revenue officer, the company announced Friday.

The moves formalize a sixth generation of family involvement at Chicagoland’s largest independent and locally operated real estate brokerage. Additionally, the firm, which was founded in 1855, said the move also consolidates revenue leadership across brokerage, mortgage and title. 

“In contrast to Wall Street-backed firms, our independence allows us to make decisions based on what is best for our agents and their clients,” said Steve Baird, president and CEO of Baird & Warner. “We remain committed to providing a model that supports long-term success, not short-term gains. We are not thinking in terms of quarters, but generations.”

Steve Baird said the company’s ownership structure remains unchanged and in family hands, with a continued focus on independence in an industry increasingly shaped by publicly traded brokerages, M&A activity and private equity investment.

“Stewardship and good governance are at the core of Baird & Warner’s culture and success,” Steve Baird said. He added that Ellis’s expanded role as chief revenue officer “will further strengthen our integrated approach to real estate services, which remains a key differentiator.”

Lucy Baird, who is part of the firm’s sixth generation of family ownership, has spent the past decade working inside the company as Baird & Warner historian and leading Good Will Works, the firm’s philanthropic arm. In that role, she has overseen charitable giving, volunteer initiatives and partnerships with Habitat for Humanity Chicago, Chicago Area Fair Housing Alliance, Spanish Coalition for Housing and YWCA.

Her appointment to the board and into the newly created chief stewardship officer role is intended to reinforce a governance strategy that preserves Baird & Warner’s independence and family-owned structure over the long term.

“I feel a deep responsibility to honor the legacy my family has built over more than 170 years, and stepping up to the board and this new title is a natural progression from my work at the helm of our charitable and volunteer initiatives,” Lucy Baird said in a statement. “The creation of a chief stewardship officer further formalizes a commitment” to the company’s guiding principles, she added.

She said the goal is to ensure Baird & Warner remains “a fiercely independent and locally owned organization.”

Ellis is moving into the chief revenue officer position from her previous roles as chief strategy officer and president of residential sales. She joined Baird & Warner in 1998 and has held multiple leadership posts, helping drive residential sales growth and align operations across the company’s business units.

In her expanded role, Ellis will oversee revenue generation across Baird & Warner’s brokerage, mortgage and title operations and will be responsible for integrating the firm’s “one-stop shop” approach to real estate services. That model — bringing brokerage, lending and title under one roof — has been a key focus area for large regionals looking to stabilize earnings and deepen client relationships.

“One of the things that makes Baird & Warner unique is how intentionally we bring all aspects of the transaction together to support both our agents and their clients,” Ellis said. She said the goal is to strengthen collaboration between teams and build “a more seamless and supportive experience that helps our agents succeed.”

This article was generated using HousingWire Automation and reviewed by a HousingWire editor before publication. The system helps convert company announcements and industry data into HousingWire-style news coverage.