Leadership - Executive Bios

Val DeVine
Co-Founder & CEO

As the CEO of Grand Estates Auction, Val co-founded the company in 1999, an entrepreneur for all of her life, she has participated in over 25 start-ups. Val has extensive knowledge and experience in building successful companies. She was the founder and CEO of Galaxy Distributing, the first and largest micro distribution company in the Carolinas. At Best Rate Mortgage, she developed the first mortgage company to shop loans for clients seeking the best rates, and oversaw the closing of 100’s of millions of dollars in real estate. Her first company was nominated to the Inc. 500. And she didn’t stop there. She was considered one of Inc. Magazine's top-ranked speakers and created several books and tapes that were republished by Inc. Magazine. She has lobbied in Washington for citizens' rights in mortgage lending and was the first person in the industry who predicted the coming financial and banking collapse. As published in the Charlotte Observer on December 11, 1995, Ms. DeVine stated, “If you allow mortgage lending to change the way Washington wants it to change, you will bring about an Armageddon that will make the last depression look like a picnic in the park.”

She has founded development companies, an ad agency, marketing companies and a publishing company. She founded a crisis management turn around company where she had her first experience dealing with sellers who needed to dispose of high end properties very quickly while she negotiated with their lenders for better terms. She was very successful, but the light hadn’t gone on yet in her head, when it came to the benefits of auctioning. She was just always looking for the better way.   

After trying unsuccessfully to sell a multi-million dollar home she owned and having exhausted all traditional means, she studied the auction process and set out to improve its business and sales practices by tailoring them specifically for the luxury real estate market. She knew she had the tools, personal connections, knowledge ,and means to form a company for sellers like herself. Reaching out to her vast network of business contacts from the past 25 years, including industry-leading marketing people, bankers, computer programmers, accountants, and real estate brokers, Grand Estates Auction Company was created. In its first year, GEA won the National Association of Realtors four-color brochure award for marketing. GEA has since become the leader in the luxury residential auction world, conducting auctions throughout the US as well as internationally, gaining recognition and respect along the way.

Val is still actively involved in GEA today, overseeing the company's office's direction and development. She maintains a crucial role at GEA and even serves as the auctioneer once in a while.


Stacy Kirk Reich
Co-Founder & President

As president, Stacy is involved in all facets of the business, including operations, management, and sales. After assisting her family in various real estate ventures as a young woman, Stacy originated loans for a Charlotte residential real estate mortgage brokerage, where she was a top producer and originated loans for three of the largest homebuilders in the southeastern U.S. In 1999, she co-founded Grand Estates Auction Co. with her mother, Val DeVine, to pioneer selling luxury homes nationally through the auction method. In 2002, Stacy took a one-year sabbatical from Grand Estates to learn more about marketing luxury goods to discriminating clients by selling private aircraft for Net Jets, a Berkshire Hathaway company, the world’s largest provider of private aviation.

Stacy has been featured in numerous national newspaper and magazine publications for her work at Grand Estates Auction Company, including the Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Unique Homes, DuPont Registry, amongst many regional publications such as the Charlotte Observer, Business Journals , Boston Herald, Atlanta Journal Constitution as well as many others. She has also served as an informational source to various local, national and international media outlets, most recently: Fox News, CNBC, and NPR.

Stacy possesses a Bachelor of Arts degree from the College of Charleston. Additionally she has held other licenses and designations such as her Mortgage Finance Accreditation, Property and Casualty Insurance License, and the first level of the Certified Commercial Investment Manager, as well as various real estate licenses throughout the country.


Scott Kirk
Executive Vice President

Scott is in charge of operations at the company’s corporate office in Charlotte, where he oversees sales, marketing, human resources and coordination of upcoming auctions. Scott learned all facets of Grand Estates Auction Co. by working in positions throughout the company. While still in college, Scott was a bid assistant helping to support the auction staff and assist prospective buyers. He joined the company full-time in 2004 and recently was promoted from senior marketing consultant to executive vice president. Prior to 2004, Scott helped sell homes for a homebuilder in an exclusive community in Wilmington, N.C., and developed a sales program for a Web design and Internet company, also in Wilmington. He holds a Bachelor of Business Administration degree from the University of North Carolina at Wilmington.

Throughout his tenure at Grand Estates, Scott has helped successfully engineer and oversee over $200,000,000 in real estate auction sales to date. He is also credited with coining the term, “Gallery Auction”, which is now a widely used term throughout the industry that describes a grouping of luxury properties being sold at one time. Additionally, Scott has been quoted as a highly respected industry professional for many national and local media outlets in regards to real estate trends and luxury auctions including the Wall Street Journal, NPR, Bloomberg, Barons, Business Journal newspapers and a featured interview on CNBC’s Power Lunch.

Mr. Kirk has been the architect of many notable transactions throughout Grand Estates’ history, including partnering with a developer of a low-rise luxury oceanfront development in Key Largo, FL. Through the efforts of Grand Estates, the marketing campaign and auction resulted in the developer selling over 10 luxury oceanfront condo units for over $9,000,000, shattering all local sales records at the time.
 
Joshua Drown
Vice President of Marketing & Operations

As Vice President of Marketing and Operations for Grand Estates, Joshua directs the strategy and implementation of the company's brand across all media platforms and oversees the day-to-day management of the corporate office in Charlotte. His responsibilities include the development of corporate and property specific advertising and marketing campaigns, online brand development, social media, mobile, and supervising the operations and marketing department’s finances.

Joshua joined Grand Estates in 2012 after serving as Director of Advertising & Marketing for The Corcoran Group, one of the top luxury real estate brokerages in the country. During his tenure, Corcoran was able to consistently achieve top market share, best list price to sales price ratio, and fewest days on the market compared to their direct competition. Over the course of 12 years he worked to increase brand equity maximization and market share for industry leading luxury real estate offices throughout South Florida, and was instrumental in the sales and marketing of over $5 billion in real estate.

A Kansas City, Missouri native and South Florida resident since 1987, Joshua graduated from Palm Beach Atlantic University with a BA in Philosophy and Religion. After graduation he served in various positions including Vice President of Administration for Rail Transport Corporation in Kansas City, and Director of Media Operations for Palm Beach, Florida based McCann Coyner Clarke Real Estate.

Joshua now lives in Uptown Charlotte, North Carolina with his wife. Outside of work and family, he loves backpacking, baseball, yoga, and reading a good book.