The 30-Minute Interview - Susan M. De FranÇa - NYTimes.com Ms. de França, 52, is the president and chief executive of Douglas Elliman Development Marketing, which focuses on new residential developments. Before joining Douglas Elliman last July, she was the president of Related Sales, the marketing and sales division of the Related Companies, where she was responsible for sales at luxury buildings like the Time Warner Center and Superior Ink. She also previously worked for the Sunshine Group. A. I wasn't necessarily looking for a move. In fact, it started as a conversation with myself and a couple of brokers at Douglas Elliman and with Dottie Herman and Howard Lorber on how Douglas Elliman might assist us at the Century in Los Angeles. They would represent us with some celebrity clientele. And as a result we met a couple of times, and then I was offered the position. I feel that what I brought to Douglas Elliman is a real in-depth knowledge of the developer mentality. A. I look at marketing and sales as a sort of broad, big-picture experience. When I work with developers, I would like to start from the very beginning - to assist in what the property is, who the demographics will be that will buy the property, which then leads to key decisions as to who the architect should be, the interior designer and the type of unit mix. I'd like to say I'm an integral member of the development team. A. It could be anywhere from 18 to 20, with what's in the market and the pipeline. A. One is 400 Fifth Avenue, the residences above the Setai on 39th. The percentage sold is just over 50 percent, and the average price per square foot is $1,720. It might have been $1,900 before we became involved last April. We're working on Tempo, on 23rd Street and Second Avenue. That's about 55 percent sold. We're appealing to a young demographic, parents buying for their children in neighboring universities and the price point there is just shy of $1,300 a foot. In terms of new developments on the planning board, we're working with the Witkoff Group on 150 Charles Street, which is about 240,000 square feet and the last coveted site in the West Village on West Street. It'll be 91 residences. Hopefully you'll see the structure coming out of the ground by September. We're also at 1107 Broadway, the toy building, for the Witkoff Group and Howard Lorber, who is a partner in that property. That will have about 127 residences; it's going through initial floor plans, design schematics. And we're working on 11 East 68th Street for Vornado and HFZ Capital. A. At some point I hope to participate in some capacity. A. The market is very strong, particularly on the high end, as everyone is reporting. We see that there is this pent-up demand, and there will be quite a few properties hitting the market in 2013. A. Well, we're seeing the $1 million to $2 million market very strong also. A. This is Manhattan, right? A. We're seeing a lot of foreign buyers particularly at 400 Fifth Avenue, because of the Setai Hotel; they wish for the amenities. Brazilians, Chinese, Russian, Middle Eastern. The international market has definitely spurred sales activity. There's more demand than last year and even five years ago. That's spurred again because of some of the political unrest globally as well as the financial dilemmas that are worldwide. People still look at New York as the cultural, financial capital of the world. And they feel safer here. A. I was very loyal to the Upper East Side. Q. But you did eventually move to the West Village, to Superior Ink, a couple of years ago. Do you still live there? A. I do. That's my home. A. I'd prefer not to comment on it. I don" t think anybody gets anything for nothing.