Denise Kinney, president of Coldwell Banker Sea Coast Advantage, is somewhat shy and prefers working behind the scenes to being in the limelight. Nevertheless, she is a powerhouse in the Wilmington real estate industry.  
 
As the head of one of the region’s top real estate firms, Kinney oversees a company that brings in more than $3 billion in sales with 23 offices and more than 800 agents.  
 
Kinney’s career in real estate began in 2001 soon after she was laid off from Corning. As she likes helping people, Kinney thought real estate would be a good career move. Unfortunately, she wasn’t a very good salesperson, Kinney laughs.  
 
But Kinney liked the field, and when she transitioned into a real estate management position, she found her milieu. As a managing broker, Kinney could put her relationship-building skills to work and fulfill her desire to help others. She spent her days in ways many would avoid: troubleshooting difficulties, solving contract snafus and dealing with customer complaints.  
 
“I enjoy working through problems,” Kinney said. “I want to take them off the agents’ plates, so they can go out and sell real estate.”  
 
When Kinney joined Sea Coast Advantage in 2008, one of her responsibilities was to head up its Internet Leads Program. Although internet marketing was a new enterprise for the company, and a position for which Kinney had no experience, she took it on.  
 
“I didn’t know what I was doing,” said Kinney. “I started qualifying leads, generating a lot of internet lead, and launched software to manage the leads. I also created a sales team to work those leads.”  
 
Kinney may have been a rookie when it came to internet sales leads, but she made the division a success, and it continues to be one of the company’s most profitable departments today.  
 
Kinney was eager to move up in the company and quickly assumed new leadership roles. After serving in various upper-management positions, she was promoted to vice president and then senior vice president. She was responsible for a myriad of duties including ensuring new offices got off the ground, recruiting and transitioning agents into the company and maintaining Sea Coast Advantage’s family-friendly culture.  
 
One of the hallmarks of Kinney’s work ethic was making herself available to agents at all times, day or night – a commitment she continues to honor.  
 
“They (the agents) can call or text me any time,” Kinney said. “I am available to them.”  
 
When Tim Milam, the company’s founder, decided to transition from the presidency to become CEO, Kinney was tapped last year to take over the role. Although Kinney said doing so was frightening, it was a position she was prepared for. In addition to her vast managerial experience, Kinney had taken the Ascend Executive Leadership program for real estate professionals. During the year-long program, Kinney tackled subjects like creating a positive business culture, dealing with diverse personalities, conflict management, working with financials and refining her personal leadership style.  
 
“It was one of the best things I’ve done for my career,” Kinney said. “I met so many people, learned about myself and built confidence.”  
 
The company also developed a transition period, during which Kinney gradually took on more responsibility and became more comfortable handling the duties that came with the position.  
 
“It was important to make sure I could do the job and that I wanted to do the job,” Kinney said. “The last thing I wanted was to let Tim or his family down.”  
 
Kinney was formally made president of Sea Coast Advantage in May 2021. One of her biggest challenges in today’s booming housing market is ensuring the agents have the assistance they need to do their jobs and that they have time to be with family, Kinney said.  
 
In addition to her many other responsibilities, Kinney resolves problems agents encounter and ensures they always have backup – that someone can help them complete a transaction or perform another business function when client obligations conflict or they want to attend a child’s soccer game or dance recital.  
 
Kinney is also working to ensure that Sea Coast Advantage retains its No. 1 status in the area. In addition, she hopes to grow the company’s market share and increase the number of megaproducers in the firm. Sea Coast Advantage currently has more than 80 agent/teams who sell $10 million a year or more, and Kinney wants to help more agents achieve that level of success.  
 
“We focus on building each agent’s business individually,” she said.
 
Throughout her trajectory in the real estate world, Kinney has remained true to herself. Kinney knew she wanted to be in management, was good at it and always did the best job she could. And above all, she has always worked to help others.