The OptHome executive team combines decades of experience thriving and working in the real estate, technology, and consumer-focused industries. The following are brief biographies of OptHome’s key executives.
Dan Rao, President & CEO
Dan has been cultivating retail and service start-ups and publicly held companies for over two decades. He has served as CEO of Chadwick’s of Boston--where he grew the company profitably to over $600M in revenues-- and as senior management at TJX—where he contributed to the evolution of TJ Maxx from a start-up company into a $3B retail powerhouse. Dan currently serves on the Board of The CEO Place, is a licensed real estate agent in Massachusetts and holds a Master’s degree in Industrial Engineering and Management from Oklahoma State University.
Fun Fact: Besides being Chief of OptHome, Dan is also Chief of his kitchen! He likes to cook New Year’s Eve dinner, with his specialty being shrimp scampi.
Robert Harrington, Founder & Chairman
Rob has been immersed in real estate brokerage, development, management and investment for over twenty years. His track record for leveraging technology to improve efficiency, communication and profits for companies has made him a sought-after board member by organizations across many industries. Rob earned a dual degree in Finance and Computer Science at the Boston College School of Management and is a licensed Real Estate Broker in Massachusetts and New Hampshire.
Fun Fact: Rob dislocated his knee in college, sledding on a shower curtain with his roommates.
David Sears, Co-Founder, Chief Strategist
Dave’s business acumen grew from his experiences as a leader in a unique cross section of industries. He has run successful publishing divisions for more than ten years at companies such as industry giant, IDG, and founded PrintResource, a design and printing services company which has been featured on Inc. Magazine’s “500 List” of the fastest growing private companies in America. Dave is a licensed Real Estate Broker in the state of Massachusetts.
Fun Fact: Dave was lead vocal in the 1980’s for two local Massachusetts rock bands. He has been playing the guitar for 20 years and now sings mostly country music.
Steven Palmer, Chief Information Officer
Steve brings a wide range of experience in the Information Technology functions, applications development and service delivery disciplines to the OptHome team. He has held executive positions at global corporations and prominent firms such as Putnam Investments, Avery Dennison and Fidelity Investments. He has a successful history of setting and managing IT strategy and security and of leveraging technology for corporations. Palmer is a licensed real estate salesperson and obtained his Bachelors of Science in mathematics from the University of Massachusetts -- with a concentration in statistics-- and has accomplished post graduate work in computer languages and database methodology.
Fun Fact: Steve won an eBay bid in 2006 for a ZAP Xebra electric car. While he hasn’t been able to register it in MA, he has enjoyed driving it around his neighborhood.
Kerryann Driscoll, Chief Marketing Officer
Kerryann’s career has focused on leveraging integrated marketing methods to develop and implement media campaigns, corporate communications strategies and public relations initiatives to bolster the brands and images of corporations and non-profit organizations. She has a strong background in marketing strategy, team leadership and most recently served as the Marketing Communications Manager at RE/MAX of New England, Inc. Kerryann received her Bachelor’s at Northeastern University in Business Administration and Marketing/Communications.
Fun Fact: Despite her present career in marketing, Kerryann first aspired to be an astronaut, and even attended space camp as a young girl.
Michelle Duddy, Director of Operations
Michelle has focused much of her professional career on managing the daily systems and staff operations of major private companies and most recently spent 7 years at RE/MAX of New England, Inc. as Director of Administration. She has strong human resource and staffing experience and is skilled in managing all operations from contracts and accounting to team development and training. Michelle holds a Bachelors Degree in Psychology from Boston College with a concentration in Management and is a licensed real estate salesperson in MA.
Fun fact: Michelle plays a very competitive game of Boggle and has been known to ‘double’ as a dictionary source when none are around.
David Luczkow, Vice President, Business Development
David has vast experience in commercial and residential real estate finance and investment. His expertise encompasses mortgage securitization, capital markets, mortgage securities and whole loan trading, investment management and residential development. Dave is a licensed real estate salesperson in Massachusetts and holds an MBA in Finance from The Wharton School of Business and a BA in Economics from Dartmouth College.
Fun Fact: Dave has an identical twin brother who is an emergency room physician. Unfortunately, Dave’s attempts at performing medical treatment via telepathy with his brother have thus far proven fruitless.
OptHomeTM is a registered DBA of OptNow® Real Estate Corporation located in Southborough, MA. OptNow Real Estate Corporation is a licensed real estate brokerage in the state of Massachusetts and has several patented or patent pending processes.