the most powerful people in residential real estate stefan swanepoel

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the most powerful people in residential real estate stefan swanepoel
THE MOST POWERFUL PEOPLE IN
RESIDENTIAL REAL ESTATE
2014/5
STEFAN SWANEPOEL
COPYRIGHT © 2014 BY REALSURE, INC.
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may not be suitable for your market or situation.
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organizations stated in the Report, the Report is written as a neutral,
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EDITOR IN CHIEF Stefan J.M. Swanepoel
EXECUTIVE EDITOR Rob Hahn
COPY EDITOR Thomas Mitchell
CREATIVE EDITOR Tinus Swanepoel
TECHNICAL EDITOR DJ Swanepoel
PUBLISHER RealSure, Inc.
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IMAGES AND PHOTOS
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© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
CONTENTS
iv BENCHMARKS AND CRITERIA
The SP200 algorithm.
7 THE TOP 20
Get an inside look at the top 20 of the most powerful people
in the residential real estate industry.
26 THE TOP 200
Read through the definitive list of the top 200 most powerful
people in the residential real estate industry.
Defining and Analyzing Power
BENCHMARKS AND CRITERIA
These are the leaders of our industry. They are the drivers! They are the
ones making the biggest difference! Leadership is about showing the way,
especially during times of change. It’s about enabling and empowering
your team to succeed at higher levels and beat out the competition.
Change the rules. Create new opportunities. Buy your competitor.
Maximize your revenue. These leaders have done that…and in spades!
What makes the Swanepoel
POWER 200 (SP200) unique is that we
have integrated in one list all the different
types of leaders in the real estate industry,
even though they succeed and/or serve
in different sectors of our industry. Some
have entrepreneurial power or financial
strength, some hold high office and
have positional power, while others have
political clout and some have personal
power.
Power is an elusive concept.
Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as
“the ability or right to control people or
things.” Of course, that raises the question
of what is meant by “control.” Control is
defined as directing the behavior of, or
to cause a person to do what you want.
Power can also exist even though it may
not be exercised, because simply having
power can discourage others from
challenging it. So you could just imagine
the healthy debate we had as to what
criteria should be used in creating a list of
the most powerful people.
As we stated last year, creating
this list is more art than science and
we are the first to acknowledge that the
list is not perfect. If you question any
specific person’s ranking, remember we
did too—at least a dozen times. This is
not a popularity contest nor did we do a
headcount or tally up sales revenue. We
understand it is very hard to compare
people when they do not all have the same
data or criteria by which to measure them.
We did however try to make it as much
science as possible by taking into account
theses types of data points as well as
the financial resources of the company
or organization, the organization’s
significance and contribution to the
industry, the company’s geographic reach,
the individual’s personal influence, his/
her tenure in the industry, the office he
or she holds, the decision-making power
of said office, report lines, ownership and
activities during the past year as well as
future growth, and potential.
What makes this list extraordinary
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
them for more than two decades. I even personally
had face-to-face meetings and/or telephonic
discussions with some 30 percent of them just in
the last six months alone. This is our space and we
now it very well. With that said, the SP200 editorial
team still invested over 400 hours to bring you the
best possible list.
There is no pay-to-play, no old boys club,
and no favors for friends. If you made it to the
SP200 you are most certainly deserving of your
inclusion and we salute you! So here they are, the
200 most powerful people in residential real estate
for 2014/15.
is that we received literally hundreds and hundreds
of recommendations and ultimately reviewed
nearly 1,000 contenders. We scoured the Web,
read hundreds of bios, read hundreds of Linkedin
pages, sent hundreds of requests for additional
information, made endless telephone calls to verify
or confirm stats, and cross-referenced data with
surveys, reports and company announcements.
We however respected major leadership changes
shared with us that were not yet officially announced.
In the end, the SP200 editorial team debated
each person lengthily, making adjustments based
upon decades-long experience and knowledge of
many, many people and companies on the list. I
personally have met 50 percent of the leaders on
this year’s SP200 and have known a good number of
Stefan Swanepoel
Editor-in-Chief
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
Rob Hahn
Executive Editor
www.sp200.com
v
Power200
Power200
THE TOP 20
SWANEPO EL
An Inside Look into the Leaders of 2014/5
Chairman and CEO, Realogy Holdings Corp.
RICHARD SMITH
Richard Smith repeats his tenure at the top of the real estate industry’s power
rankings this year, having managed Realogy to a very strong year while making
one of the most important—yet little-discussed—acquisitions in recent years:
the purchase of ZipRealty.
REALOGY’S MARCH TO FINANCIAL
health continues unabated under
Smith’s leadership. In Q3/2014,
Realogy brought in revenues of $1.5
billion with EBITDA of $287 million,
and importantly, $234 million in
net cash flow. As a result, Realogy
expects to be able to pay off $330
million in high-interest debt in early
2015. Its performance throughout
2014 was slightly above 2013 levels,
an impressive feat given that the
real estate market has cooled
slightly from the highs of 2013.
As Realogy’s leader for over
18 years, Smith wields more power
over this group than anyone else.
And what a collection of companies
it is. Its company-owned brokerage,
the NRT, is the largest brokerage in
the United States by a wide margin.
In sales, it is three times the size of
its next closest competitor. Some
42,000 real estate agents work for
the NRT in 725 offices, all under
one of Realogy’s brands. In the
nine months ended September 30,
2014, the NRT posted revenues of
$3 billion. That’s not sales volume
of $3 billion, but gross commission
income of $3 billion.
Realogy also owns half of
the top 10 brands in the industry:
Coldwell Banker, Century 21,
Sotheby’s International Realty,
ERA, and Better Homes and
Gardens. Between the NRT and the
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franchisees of Realogy’s brands,
Realogy touches one out of every
four home sales in America. That’s
dominance.
Another subsidiary, Cartus,
remains the world’s largest
relocation company, serving over
half of the Fortune 500 and over
60 percent of the Fortune 50
companies. Cartus alone brought
in $125 million in net revenue in
Q3/2014. Realogy also has major
operations in mortgage, through its
joint-venture with PHH Mortgage,
and in title with its ownership of
Title Resource Group. TRG alone,
with 335 offices in 47 states and
Washington DC, brought in $111
million in net revenue during the
same period.
Realogy is simply residential
real estate’s most important
company. Period.
In 2014, Smith and Realogy
took an important step to continue
its dominance of the industry by
acquiring ZipRealty, one of the top
technology-powered
brokerage
companies in the world. Realogy
plans to integrate ZipRealty and
then roll out its technology platform
to the NRT and to the thousands
of brokerage companies who are
franchisees of its brands. As of
today, Realogy’s franchise brands
are the only ones able to offer this
comprehensive suite of proven and
tested technology platforms to their
franchisees. Its strategic advantage
has grown when compared to the
other major franchises.
Smith’s personal power also
took a leap in recent years when he
was appointed to the real estate
commission on the extremely
influential DC think tank, the
Bipartisan Policy Center. A number
of observers have noted that the
Bipartisan Policy Center’s widely
studied national housing policy
recommendations have essentially
been the blueprint of the Obama
Administration’s housing policy,
and have influenced Congressional
legislation on housing and housing
finance.
Smith is a graduate of
Columbus State University (BS)
and Troy State University (MS),
serves on the executive committee
of the Policy Advisory Board
for the Joint Center for Housing
Studies of Harvard University, is
an honorary member of the Easter
Seals National Board of Directors,
a member of the Columbus State
University Foundation Board of
Trustees, a former member of the
New Jersey Economic Growth
Council, and our choice to repeat
as The Most Powerful Person in
Residential Real Estate Brokerage
in 2014.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Chief Executive Officer, Zillow
SPENCER RASCOFF
Zillow not only blew the doors off its 2013 performance, it
made one of the biggest power moves that the real estate
industry has ever seen by acquiring Trulia, its chief rival and
the second largest real estate portal, for an eye-popping $3.5
billion.
WHILE THE ACQUISITION HAS NOT
yet cleared regulatory approval, it
is widely expected to close in early
2015. The combined Zillow-Trulia
company would dwarf every other
real estate website by almost every
measure. Using Q3/2014 numbers,
“Zulia” would top 140 million
monthly unique visitors—almost
four and a half times as large as
Realtor.com, the #3 website in the
real estate category.
Even if we disregard the
acquisition and focus solely on
Zillow itself, its growth has been
simply unbelievable, coming on
top of astounding growth in the
prior year. Its consumer advertising
campaign, which began in late 2012,
rocketed traffic growth for Zillow
throughout 2014. In Q3/2013, Zillow
had 61 million monthly uniques,
compared to 35 million for Trulia
and 28 million for Realtor.com. This
year, Zillow posted 86 million for
Q3, versus 55 million for Trulia and
32 million for Realtor®. Zillow is as
large as its next two competitors
combined.
Accordingly,
Zillow
is
making more money than ever
before. It posted revenues of $88.6
million in Q3/2014 — a 66 percent
increase year-over-year, which in
turn was a 67 percent increase
year-over-year compared to 2012.
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Zillow’s revenues have grown by an
amazing 178 percent over the past
two years. In Q3 of last year, some
44,700 real estate agents were
subscribers; in Q3 of 2014 that
number is more than 60,000.
Spencer Rascoff joined the
company as one of its founding
employees in 2005 and currently
serves as its Chief Executive Officer.
Prior to Zillow, he co-founded
Hotwire.com, a leading Internet
travel company, which was sold to
Expedia. He has received numerous
awards, including Fortune’s 2012
40 Under 40 Hottest Young Stars in
Business and Forbes’ America’s 20
Most Powerful CEOs Under 40.
Rascoff is the leader of the
company that is the center of every
conversation in real estate today.
One could argue that every major
real estate company is reacting
to Zillow and its continued growth.
Evoking the full rainbow of emotions
from enthusiastic support to fear
and loathing. Love ‘em or hate ‘em,
Zillow is changing real estate as we
know it and Rascoff is leading that
charge. The amazing performance
of Zillow, combined with the bold
move to acquire Trulia, moves
Spencer Rascoff from third place
last year into second, behind only
Richard Smith.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Chairman and CEO, HomeServices of America
RON PELTIER
Ron Peltier continued to build on 2013, when he orchestrated
one of the biggest industry acquisitions in recent times,
grabbing two top 10 franchise networks at the same time—
Prudential and Real Living.
BERKSHIRE HATHAWAY HOMESERVICES
(BHHS), the new franchise brand of
HomeServices of America, became
a major national player almost
overnight, converting most former
Prudential franchisees into BHHS
affiliates and naming its 1,000th
office in September of 2014.
company-owned
The
brokerage,
HomeServices
of
America, has also continued its
aggressive acquisition spree. In
2014, HSA added Intero to the fold—
one of the largest brokerages in
California with over 1,000 agents,
7,000 transactions, and $5.7B in
sales volume (2013 numbers).
While Realogy prefers smaller “tuckin” acquisitions, HomeServices is
putting together an empire of the
largest, oldest, and most powerful
regional companies in the country.
Peltier continues to play a
major role in handling major issues
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and conflicts such as syndication
and the role of the MLS like the
former star hockey player he was:
by body checking and dropping the
gloves. As one of the founders of
the Realty Alliance and a powerful
director of Leading Real Estate
Companies of the World network,
Peltier is one of the central figures
in the power struggle between
brokerages, technology companies,
and the world of organized real
estate.
He has been the Chief
Executive Officer of HomeServices
of America Inc. since its inception
in July 1999, and now also serves
as the CEO of Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices. He holds a Master
in Business Administration from
the College of St. Thomas and
a Bachelor's from the University
of Minnesota where he was a
Gopher’s hockey standout.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Co-Founder and Chairman, Keller Williams Realty International
GARY KELLER
4
Gary Keller, the co-founder and mastermind behind Keller Williams Realty International, gifted
speaker and New York Times best-selling author.
AFTER ANNOUNCING A YEAR AGO
that they had become probably the
largest company in the U.S., based
on agent count, they didn't even
pause for a second to celebrate but
keep tearing upwards. 2014 was
another year of growth as another
12,000 agents joined the redand-white to bring the total agent
count at the end of 2014 to around
107,000. Based on head count of a
single real estate brand, KWRI is
unquestionably the largest in North
America.
But it wasn’t merely
headcount that KWRI added in 2014.
Transactions increased 10 percent,
closed volume increased 15 percent,
and commissions increased 16
percent—all well above industry
averages. To put the performance
into context, Realogy’s franchises
increased volume by only 3 percent,
and NRT only increased by 1 percent
while Realtors® as a whole saw a
decline in volume of 1 percent.
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KWRI has been a pioneer
in a number of practices, many of
which are becoming more widely
adopted within the industry, such
as caps on commissions paid
to the brokerage, profit sharing,
and an unapologetically agentcentric model and philosophy. Its
agent-centricity has extended to
its embrace of the agent team
that for all intents and purposes
is a brokerage within a brokerage.
And KWRI extended the concept
in 2014 by launching Mega Agent
Expansion, which encourages
successful agent teams to launch
into new locations, in exactly the
same way that brokerages open
new offices.
As a privately held company,
KWRI’s revenues and profits are
not disclosed, but at its 2014
annual conference it revealed that
throughout 2013, KWRI distributed
$78 million in profits to associates;
an increase of 41 percent from the
$55 million in profits shared back in
2012. 2014 profit sharing numbers
will most certainly be up again.
An additional very unique
dimension to this focused Thought
Leader is that he is also a multiple
New York Times best selling author
with titles such as: The Millionaire
Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire
Real Estate Investor, SHIFT: How
Top Real Estate Agents Tackle
Tough Times, and The ONE Thing:
The Surprisingly Simple Truth
Behind Extraordinary Results. He
has authored more books than
all the other CEOs of the Top 10
real estate franchise companies
combined. Keller is a gifted speaker
who mixes anecdotes and personal
stories with business insights,
resulting in tens of thousands of
KWRI agents flocking to Austin to
attend the annual KWRI events:
Family Reunion, Mastermind, and
Megacamp.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
President and CEO, Realogy Franchise Group
ALEX PERRIELLO
5
Alex Perriello, the trusted right-hand of Richard Smith, our Most Powerful Person in Real Estate
for 2014/5, has one of the highest profiles within the residential real estate brokerage industry.
PERRIELLO IS A 36-YEAR VETERAN
of real estate, having begun his career
as an on-the-street real estate agent
for Coldwell Banker in California.
From that beginning, he has held just
about every position in the company,
from sales to management,
exemplifying leadership and resolve.
As President and CEO of
the Realogy Franchise Group (RFG)
since 2004, Perriello manages six of
the top ten brands in real estate today:
Coldwell Banker and Coldwell Banker
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
Commercial, Century 21, Better
Homes and Gardens Real Estate,
ERA, and Sotheby’s International
Realty. Collectively, these brands
represent some 250,000 agents
working at 13,400 franchised
offices in 105 countries around the
world. Realogy brands, including the
NRT which is a franchisee of RFG,
are involved in one out of every four
home sale transactions in the U.S.
Realogy continued to grow
in 2014, posting year over year gains
in revenues and EBITDA of $199
million and $136 million (3 percent
and 2 percent) respectively—a nice
performance given the sheer size of
RFG.
Perriello, in our estimate,
rises one slot this year due to the
acquisition of ZipRealty, which
provides RFG with a powerful inhouse advantage that none of the
other franchisors have today. In the
fiercely competitive battle to get and
keep franchisees, RFG has increased
the technology stakes in the space.
www.SP200.com
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Chief Executive Officer, National Association of REALTORS®
DALE STINTON
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Dale Stinton heads America's largest trade association, representing almost 1.1 million
members involved in all aspects of the residential and commercial real estate industries, and
he is a perennial Power Player in Washington DC, which during changing and difficult times is
no easy task.
STINTON, A 30-YEAR VETERAN of
NAR, took over the reins as CEO
in 2005 and has done so with
commitment and determination.
In 2014, NAR made two key
tactical moves that we feel justify
Stinton climbing one position in the
rankings this year. The $950 million
sale of Move to the global media giant
News Corp, which could not have
happened without the concurrence
and cooperation of NAR, went
through smoothly from start to
finish. After the Trulia acquisition by
Zillow, many had written off Move as
playing a major role in the future of
portals and online lead gen, but this
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transaction was smart, bold, and
has most certainly thrown the door
wide open again.
Stinton also shepherded
through an ambitious program to
totally change organized real estate.
Called the Core Standards program,
this new NAR initiative attempts to
reinvent and reinvigorate the highly
touted cooperative relationship
between national, state, and local
associations. The mission is to
significantly raise the bar at all
three levels of the organization. A
bold goal, but if successful it will
transform the industry’s association
landscape for decades to come.
In a world in which nine out
of 10 buyers begin their home search
online, it is critical for Realtors® to
create a branded space online. That
is why NAR began the process of
securing the .REALTOR domain for
its members seven years ago. NAR
was one of the first associations to be
approved for a top-level domain for
its membership. Since the domain
name was released in October
2014, more than 85,000 names
have been registered, making the
launch a huge success. And then,
in the same month, NAR also won
the rights to the new .REALESTATE
top-level domain. The REALTOR®
industry is in good hands
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
President and CEO, RE/MAX
DAVE LINIGER
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The Most Interesting Man in Real Estate, Dave Liniger led RE/MAX in 2013 to go public. Since
then, RE/MAX has shown solid growth: with agent count, up 5.3 percent to 97,647; Revenues
up 9.7 percent to $44.2 million for Q3/2014 and EBITDA up 5.9 percent to $23.4 million.
ON THE EVE OF 2015, RE/MAX HAS
a leadership issue that needs to
be addressed soon. One, which
impacts Liniger directly, is the
retirement in December 2014 of
Margaret Kelly, who has led RE/
MAX as CEO for nine years, and
was our #11 overall and the highest
ranking woman on the 2013/14
SP200 list. Liniger will step back
in as CEO, and while no one could
deny his ability and experience, this
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
can only be seen as an interim role.
As all three of his major
competitors made big moves last
year, his slightly lower ranking is
more a reflection of their slightly
higher placement. That said, RE/
MAX has the largest and most
saught-after global footprint, and
their brand remains the one of the
most well-known and respected real
estate brands in the world. Anyone
who has ever underestimated
Dave Liniger has learned the hard
way that he is one of the, if not
the most tenacious leader in our
industry. Expect many new and
exciting announcements from this
U.S. Air Force veteran; multi-engine,
instrument rated, commercial pilot;
NASCAR driver and owner; around
the world hot air balloonist; golf
course owner; and Co-Founder
of the Denver-area conservation
center.
www.SP200.com
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Chief Executive Officer, Keller Williams Realty International
MARK WILLIS
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Mark Willis is credited for being the driving force behind Keller Williams Realty International’s explosive
growth over the last decade.
MARK WILLIS IS THE ENIGMATIC AND CHARISMATIC LEADER
who when he took over as CEO nearly ten years ago,
committed to grow the company’s agent count from
18,000 at that time to the magical level of 100,000. Well
he fulfilled that promise ending the year 2014 with
approximately 107,000 agents.
Willis began his career with Keller Williams in
1991 as team leader of the Austin Southwest market
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center where he quadrupled office production over a fiveyear period. He subsequently served as regional director,
expanding the South Texas Region to San Antonio and
Houston, developing a 1,900-agent business. Exceptional
growth is in his DNA and as the company changes into
an even larger and more diversified corporation, Willis
is clearly destined to play an even larger role within the
organization.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
President and Chief Executive Officer, NRT LLC.
BRUCE ZIPF
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Bruce Zipf is the real power behind Realogy’s wholly owned and operated real estate brokerage subsidiary
with operations in more than 35 of the largest metropolitan areas, 710 offices, and over 42,600 agents.
WITH OVER $150 BILLION IN ANNUAL SALES VOLUME IN
2013, the NRT is ranked the largest real estate brokerage
company in the country by a mile and then some. The
NRT’s volume is larger than the next nine largest
companies put together. With 320,000 transaction sides
in 2013, it has been in more deals than the next four
largest brokerages combined.
The NRT brings in over $4 billion in gross
commission income to Realogy. Even as the technology
companies get all the press, and the various real estate
brands grab the headlines, the NRT is the foundation
upon which Realogy is built, and it's not slowing down.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
It adds companies to its portfolio every year, including
ZipRealty and its brokerage operations in 23 markets
with 1,800 associates. Since the start of 2014, the NRT
has acquired 15 companies, including such stalwarts as
Martha Turner Properties in Houston.
That is dominance. That is industry leadership.
Although Bruce Zipf is a very behind-the-scenes and
unassuming CEO, he has been the leader of this
company since 2005 (ranked #13 on our list last year)
and we acknowledge growing power he wields through
his leadership of this industry giant, by moving him up
four positions this year.
www.SP200.com
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President and CEO, Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC
BUDGE HUSKY
BUDGE HUSKEY WAS PROMOTED TO PRESIDENT AND CEO OF COLDWELL
Banker Real Estate LLC in January 2013, where he today oversees
marketing, operations, learning, and field services supporting more than
87,000 Coldwell Banker sales associates in approximately 3,000 offices
in 49 countries and territories around the world. Prior to joining Coldwell
Banker Real Estate, Huskey spent the previous 12 years in several executive
positions with the NRT, the nation's largest residential real estate brokerage.
Huskey began his real estate career as an agent in 1984 with family-owned
Huskey Realty where he stayed until joining the NRT in 1998 as a branch
manager for Coldwell Banker Residential Real Estate in Longwood, FL.
President and CEO, HomeServices of America, Inc
ROBERT MOLINE
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Robert Moline has been the President and Chief Operating Officer of HomeServices of America, Inc.
(HSA) since 2008, and is the right hand of Ron Peltier overseeing the second largest brokerage company
in North America.
HSA IS SECOND ONLY TO THE NRT, WITH $63.5 BILLION IN
sales volume in 2013, and more than double the size of the
#3 company, Long & Foster. As Peltier grows the empire
that is HomeServices (part of the Berkshire Hathaway
portfolio), Moline manages the crown jewels (company
owned stores) by ensuring successful growth both
organically and through acquisitions.
Climbing many positions this year is largely
attributed to the fact that recently Moline has also been
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very active in a number of critical industry issues, from
Franchise IDX to brokerage AVMs to the role of the MLS. He
is considered by many to be the primary driver behind two
potentially industry-changing efforts: Project Upstream and
an unnamed “broker portal” initiative. During his 23 years in
real estate brokerage, Moline most recently served as Chief
Executive Officer of HomeServices of Nebraska, Inc. His
career began as a Certified Public Accountant with Peat,
Marwick and Mitchell.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
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He eventually became a district and regional manager in the
organization's Central Florida region before being named in 2004 as president
and chief operating officer of the NRT's Coldwell Banker Residential Real
Estate in Florida. Huskey served as president of the Orlando Association
of REALTORS®, where he was honored as Realtor of the Year, and director
and committee chairperson for the Florida Association of REALTORS®.
Huskey currently serves as a National Association of REALTORS® Director
and serves on the Strategic Planning Committee. He won the 2006 Coldwell
Banker Chandler Barton Award representing dedication and service to the
Coldwell Banker brand and is a 1981 graduate of Mercer University and
earned an MBA in 1984 from Wake Forest University.
Chairman and CEO, Long and Foster
WESLEY FOSTER
WES FOSTER IS FOUNDER, CHAIRMAN, AND CHIEF EXECUTIVE Officer
of the Long & Foster Companies: Long & Foster Real Estate, Inc.,
Prosperity Mortgage Company, Mid-States Title Insurance Agency,
Inc., and Long & Foster Insurance Agency, Inc. He founded Long
& Foster Real Estate, Inc. in 1968 and has grown it into the largest
privately owned real estate company in the U.S. with over 10,000
agents working from over 170 offices and generating an astounding
73,000+ transactions a year, third only to two giant public entities.
Presently, he is seated on the Board of Directors of Lane
Construction Corporation of Meriden, CT and the George C. Marshall
Foundation. He served on the Board of Directors of RELO, Leading
Real Estate Companies of the World, the Greater Washington Board of
Trade, Metro Board of Directors of First American Bank of Maryland,
and the Board of Directors of First Union National Bank of Virginia.
Foster is a 1956 graduate of the Virginia Military Institute.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc. www.SP200.com
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President and CEO, Weichert Realtors
President and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate
JIM WEICHERT
RICK DAVIDSON
JIM WEICHERT BEGAN HIS COMPANY IN 1969 with
RICHARD W. “RICK” DAVIDSON WAS APPOINTED PRESIDENT and chief
executive officer of Century 21 Real Estate in February 2010. In his role, he
leads one of the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization
of approximately 6,800 independently owned and operated franchised
broker offices in 78 countries and territories worldwide with more than
100,000 sales professionals. Davidson has served in franchise senior
executive roles since 2006, and prior to that he was a franchise owner
of a Realogy brand.
a small Real Estate Office in Chatham, NJ. Today,
headquartered in Morris Plains, NJ, Weichert has
grown to one of the largest privately held real
estate companies in the nation with approximately
150 company owned and 275 franchise locations
across the nation. The group provides real estate,
financial services, mortgages, and home and
title insurance services through 18,000 sales
associates, 10,000 referral associates, and 2,000
employees
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Weichert Realtors remains a familyowned company and although Jim still serves as
its President and Chief Executive Officer, his son
James Weichert Jr. is growing in stature every
year and will most likely be the new leader of this
company in the not too distant future.
Chairman/CEO & President/COO, Hanna Holdings
Co-Founder, Trulia
HOWARD HANNA &
HELEN HANNA-CASEY
PETE FLINT
PETE FLINT CO-FOUNDED TRULIA, INC. IN 2005 WITH HIS PARTNER
EXPLODING IN TO THE TOP 20 THIS YEAR IS THE DYNAMIC DUO SIBLING team
of Howard W. “Hoddy” Hanna III and Helen Hanna-Casey who run a $10
billion empire, one of the largest in residential real estate in the U.S. This third
generation family owned company was founded in 1957 by Howard and Anne
Hanna with one office in the Oakland neighborhood of Pittsburgh. Hoddy
serves as Chairman and CEO while Helen serves as President. The company
spans over 170 offices and over,6,200 agents.
Sami Inkinen. In 2014 he pulled off one of the most financially lucrative
sales of the year when he sold Trulia to Zillow for an astounding $3.5
billion. Kudos on creating, building, and being able to capitalize on
a multi billion dollar company in less than a decade. The sale has
already been approved by shareholders but is being contested by
Move, Inc. and is still officially pending FTC approval. It is however
expected to close during the first quarter of 2015.
Flint drops out of the Top 10 this year in large part because
he will now be managing a subsidiary of a larger group and won't
have as much power and autonomy as he did as co-owner and
entrepreneur of his own company. Zillow plans to keep the Trulia
search portal and brand alive and that keeps Trulia as the second
largest portal in the residential real estate industry for 2015. Most
certainly the “new” Move, Inc. ownership, the challenge from Movoto,
the creation of possible broker portal, as well as other initiatives will
seek to challenge that. Pete holds a Master's degree in Physics from
the University of Oxford and an MBA from Stanford University and
remains on as CEO of Trulia.
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www.SP200.com 15
With more than 20 years of experience in the real estate
industry, prior to his current post he served in a dual capacity as chief
operating officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate and as president and
chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. In
this role, Davidson was responsible for overseeing the Coldwell Banker
residential franchise operations on a global basis after having led the
brand’s commercial operations since May 2006. Davidson is an honors
graduate of the College of Management and Business at National-Louis
University.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Howard Hanna III, known as a man of steadfast determination and
integrity, is involved in day-to-day operations. Getting his real estate license at
18 and following in his father’s footsteps, he has always been known as the
idea man, brimming with energy and charisma. Howard Hanna Real Estate
Services was among the first in the country to launch a weekly television
program showcasing homes listed for sale and is the only real estate company
in the nation to offer a “100 percent Money Back Guarantee.” Helen has many
responsibilities within and surrounding the real estate industry. She serves as
President & Director at two of her family owned companies: Hanna Holdings,
Inc, and Howard Hanna Real Estate Services, Inc., and is Independent Director
at TriState Capitol Holdings, Inc.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc. www.SP200.com
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President and CEO, Redfin
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Chief Executive Officer, RealtyONE Group
GLENN KELMAN
KUBA JEWGIENIEW
GLENN KELMAN CLIMBS FOUR SLOTS THIS YEAR AS HE has
doubled Redfin’s footprint in the last year and now operates in 48
U.S. markets. He also closed one of the largest ($70.9m) funding
rounds of the year, bringing the total raised to an astounding $166.6
million. Kelman leads Redfin, a company whose controversial
business model has gained more and more attention these days
as their great online and mobile capabilities give many other
companies a run for their money. First criticized and now often
emulated, Kelman’s company restructures the commission-based
agent / brokerage relationship so that agents work directly for the
brokerage on a salary, and (instead of a commission) receive a
bonus solely on the buyer’s review. This new model creates an
entirely new dynamic between agent, buyer, and brokerage, one
that has the buyer’s needs at its heart.
AS COMPARED TO OUR 2013/4 SP200 LIST, KUBA JEWGIENIEW
Kelman was a co-founder of Plumtree Software. The
company created the market for portal software and led that
market for many years, going public in 2002, it was acquired by
BEA in 2005. He graduated from UC Berkeley summa cum laude.
is the fastest climbing executive to break into the Top 20 in
2014/5. He is CEO of the company he founded in 2005, Realty
ONE Group, one of the fastest growing online real estate
brokerages in the country, with 6,000+ agents closing over
25,000 transactions totaling $7.2 billion per year. The company
boasts that their new innovative residential real estate brokerage
platform gives entrepreneurial real estate professionals the
freedom, resources, strategies, and collaborative environment
they need to realize their full potential.
It seems to be working very well as Realty ONE has
rapidly risen to the top of most of the markets they've entered;
claiming to be #1 in Nevada, #3 in California, and #2 in Arizona.
For the past 6 years, Realty ONE Group has made INC. 500's
list of fastest growing companies in America. Very impressive
indeed. Jewgieniew has a Bachelor in Economics from the
University of California at San Diego.
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President and CEO, Crye-Leike
President & CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services
WESLEY FOSTER
PHIL SOPER
HAROLD CRYE SERVES AS PRESIDENT AND CEO OF CRYE-LEIKE,
Inc., the company he founded in 1977 with his partner Dick Leike.
After just three years, he grew it into the largest firm in Memphis. He
now heads a team over 2,500 agents operating from more than 80
offices generating over 27,000 transactions a year. He also serves
as CEO and Chairman of Reliance Relocation Services, Inc. and is
past chairman of the Realty Alliance, past Chairman of Leading Real
Estate Companies of the World, former President of the Memphis
Area Association of REALTORS® as well as REALTORS® of the Year
for the same association.
PHIL SOPER IS PRESIDENT & CEO OF BROOKFIELD REAL ESTATE Services,
Canada’s largest real estate franchisor and owner-operator with more than
600 locations and approximately 17,000 agents under the Royal LePage,
Royal LePage Commercial, Johnston & Daniel, and Via Capitale brands.
Soper was named President of Royal LePage in 2002 and CEO of Brookfield
Real Estate Services in 2004. The business has more than tripled revenue
and doubled agent-count under his tenure.
From 2008 until 2012, Brookfield Real Estate Services made a
series of strategic acquisitions in the U.S. market, including GMAC Real
Estate, Real Living, and Prudential Real Estate, with a combined agent count
of over fifty thousand professionals. In 2012, these businesses became
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices, a joint venture between Brookfield and
Warren Buffet’s Berkshire Hathaway. The new firm was named U.S. Real
Estate Agency Brand of the Year in a 2013 Harris EquiTrend study. Prior to
joining the real estate industry, Soper was a senior executive with IBM. He
is a former governor of the University of Alberta, the same university he
graduated from with a Bachelor of Commerce.
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www.SP200.com ©2014 RealSure, Inc.
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In 2014 Crye announced that he would pull his listings from
Trulia and Zillow in the Memphis market, due to his dissatisfaction
with their listing practices. Right or wrong, this move captured of
lot of attention and embellished Crye’s strong convictions and
entrepreneurial spirit. He received his Bachelors of Science from
Arkansas State University.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc. www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
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Power200
THE TOP 200
SWA NE P OE L
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The definitive list of Leaders in Real Estate
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Richard Smith
Chairman and CEO, Realogy Holdings Corp.
Madison, NJ
Smith turned a previously ailing Realogy into the parent company of the most powerful real estate
company in the world managing half of the top 10 name brands in the industry. The group operates
approx. 13,600 offices with more than 250,000 agents doing business in 105 countries and
accounting for 26% of all existing home sales in the U.S.
Spencer Rascoff
Chief Executive Officer , Zillow
Seattle, WA
Rascoff is a founding member of Zillow, served as COO from 2008-2010 after which he became
CEO. Under his leadership, Zillow achieved record Web and mobile traffic, attracting twice the
number of visitors than its nearest competitor. Rascoff led the company in 2011 to a successful IPO
and in 2014 boldly acquired its major competitor Trulia.
Ron Peltier
Chairman and CEO, HomeServices of America
Minneapolis, MN
Through shrewd negotiations, Peltier as CEO acquired two top 10 franchise networks adding that to
their portfolio of company owned offices that were already the second largest brokerage in the U.S.
Subsequently he orchestrated the successful conversion of tens of thousands of agents to the new
and prestigious Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand.
Gary Keller
Co-Founder and Chairman, Keller Williams Realty International
Austin, TX
Kellers' brilliant vision and strategies as co-founder of KWRI has during the past decade redefined
broker-agent relationships and in the process amassed the largest number of agents to ever work
under one brand in the U.S.; 107,000 and counting. He is a gifted speaker and has been a New York
Times best-selling author multiple times.
Alex Perriello
President and CEO, Realogy Franchise Group
Madison, NJ
Perriello has been CEO of Realogy's franchise group for more than a decade. He is Richard Smith's
right hand and oversees operations for the largest real estate franchise in the world, with 13,600
franchises in 105 countries.The brand presidents of Coldwell Banker, Century 21, Better Homes and
Gardens, Sotheby's, and ERA Real Estate report to him.
Dale Stinton
Chief Executive Officer, National Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
As CEO, Stinton has demonstrated incredible leadership in bringing continued success to America's
largest trade association and its more than 1 million members. Recent highlights include the
launch of the high-level dot realtor domain, releasing new organizational standards, and helping
facilitate the sale of Move, Inc. to News Corp.
Dave Liniger
Co-Founder, Chairman & CEO, RE/MAX
Denver, CO
Liniger revolutionized the industry through his 100 percent commission-based brokerage, and with
90,000+ sales associates, RE/MAX is #1 in many markets. His life story contributes to his title as
the Most Interesting Man in Real Estate - veteran of the U.S. Air Force; a former NASCAR driver/
owner; a big game hunter; and a huge humanitarian.
Mark Willis
Chief Executive Officer , Keller Williams Realty International
Austin, TX
Willis knew he wanted to be in real estate at age 11. He started as team leader in Austin in 1991
before stepping into the role of CEO at KWRI in 2005 where he set a goal to grow the company from
18,000 to 100,000 agents. The company reached 107,000 at the end of 2014 and has now set its
sights on being No. 1 worldwide in agent count.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Bruce G Zipf
President and CEO, NRT LLC
Madison, NJ
Zipf heads NRT, the largest owner and operator of residential real estate brokerages in the U.S. with
720+ offices and 45,000 agents generating over $150 billion in annual sales. He was previously
responsible for financial planning, acquisitions and mergers, human resources, facilities, and the
New York Metro and Boston to Atlanta regions.
Robert Moline
President and COO, HomeServices of America
Minneapolis, MN
With over 22 years of industry experience, Moline oversees the corporate functions of the second
largest brokerage company in the U.S. with 26 presidents, including the president of Edina
Realty, Champion Realty, Huff Realty, ReeceNichols, RealtySouth, and many Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices rebranded companies such as Fox and Roach, report to him.
Budge Huskey
Chief Executive Officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Madison, NJ
With over 20 years of experience in all aspects of real estate, this veteran now serves as CEO of the
oldest and most revered real estate brand in the industry. Huskey oversees marketing, operations,
learning, and field services for Coldwell Banker Real Estate, supporting its 87,000+ agents working
in 3,000 offices in 49 countries.
Wesley Foster
Chairman and CEO, Long and Foster
Chantilly, VA
Foster co-founded his company in 1968, and as Chairman and CEO he has developed it into the
largest privately owned real estate firm in the U.S., with 160+ offices producing more than $26
billion in sales last year. Previously he served as a Platoon Commander in Vietnam as a member of
the Marines.
Jim M Weichert
Founder and President, Weichert REALTORS®
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Established in 1969, Weichert grew his company from a single office into one of the largest fullservice real estate and financial services groups in the country, with 425 company owned and
franchise offices 15,000 sales associates, 10,000 referral agents and 2,000 employees.
Pete Flint
Co-Founder, Trulia
San Francisco, CA
In 2005 Flint co-founded Trulia with his friend, Sami Inkinen. They took the company public in 2011,
and transformed Trulia from an online advertising company into an end-to-end, vertically integrated
technology platform for brokers and agents. In 2014 he concluded a $3.5 billion sale whereby Trulia
would become an operating subsidiary of Zillow.
Rick Davidson
President and CEO, Century 21 Real Estate
Madison, NJ
Davidson was appointed CEO in 2010 and now heads one of the largest residential real estate
franchise companies in the world with 100,000+ agents working from 6,900 franchised broker
offices in 78 countries. He previously served as chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Real
Estate and Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates.
Howard Hanna &
Helen Hanna-Casey
Chairman/CEO & President, Hanna Holdings
Pittsburg, PA
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
Glenn Kelman
President and CEO, Redfin
Seattle, WA
Kelman is an early standout in the recent wave of online real estate brokerages after graduating
summa cum laude from UC Berkeley. He has doubled its footprint in the last year and now operates
in 48 U.S. markets and closed one of the largest ($70.9m) funding rounds of the year bringing his
funding total to an astounding $166.6 million.
Philip Soper
President, Brookfield Real Estate Services
Toronto, ON
Soper was named President of Royal LePage in 2002 and CEO of Brookfield Real Estate Services in
2004. He leads their Canadia operations with over 17,000 agents in its Royal LePage, Royal LePage
Commercial, Johnston & Daniel and Via Capitale businesses. The business has more than tripled
revenue and doubled agent-count during his tenure.
Kuba Jewgieniew
Founder and CEO, Realty ONE Group
Irvine, CA
A former stockbroker and computer programmer, he has incorporated his talents in programming
into building a fast growing online real estate brokerage that offers cutting edge technology to
an agent-centric business model. The group has 6,000+ agents closing over 25,000 transactions
totaling $7.2 billion per year.
Harold Crye
President and CEO, Crye-Leike Real Estate Services
Memphis, TN
After co-founding the company in 1977, he grew his once small shop into 100+ offices across the
Southeast. He also serves as CEO and Chairman of Reliance Relocation Services. In 2014 he made
headlines when he announced that he would pull his listings from Trulia and Zillow.
Patience is power. Patience is not an absence of action;
rather it is "timing" it waits on the right time to act, for the
right principles and in the right way.
Morris Plains, NJ
A sibling team that runs this third generation family owned company, one of the largest real estate
companies in the U.S. Hoddy Hanna serves as Chairman and CEO while Helen Hanna-Casey
serves as President. The company spans 170+ offices, 6,200+ agents, and an annual sales volume
of $10 billion.
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― FULTON J. SHEEN
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Dorothy Herman
President and CEO, Douglas Elliman Real Estate
Huntington Station, NY
With her partner Howard Lorber, Herman acquired Douglas Elliman in 2003 and turned it into New
York's largest residential brokerage, with 4,700+ real estate professionals that produced almost $15
billion in sales throughout the East Coast. She also hosts the Saturday morning radio show, Eye on
Real Estate.
Gino Blefari
President and CEO, HSF Affiliates
Irvine, CA
In 2002, Blefari founded Intero and built it into one of the largest real estate companies in California
with more than 60 offices generating over $5.6 billion in 2013. In 2014 the company was acquired
by HomeServices of America and Blefari was tapped to assume the reins of their franchise
company, HSF Affiliates; effective January 1, 2015.
Lloyd Frink
Co-Founder/Vice Chairman, Zillow
Seattle, WA
One of the founders of Zillow, Frink still comes into the office five days a week where he is
responsible for Zillow's long-term strategic direction. Previously, he has served in executive roles at
Expedia where he was instrumental to the company's overall growth. Frink graduated from Stanford
with a BA in Economics.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Paul Hulme
President and CEO, Alain Pinel Realtors
Saratoga, CA
Hulme co-founded the company in 1990 and has been its sole shareholder and CEO since 2000. It
is now the largest residential real estate company in California, with 1,300+ agents producing over
$10.4 billion in sales. Born on a farm in Utah, Hulme graduated from the University of Utah, and
served in the U.S. Air Force.
Sherry Chris
President and CEO, BH&G Real Estate
Madison , NJ
Chris has over 30 years of real estate experience and has held senior management positions at
Royal LePage, Real Living and Pru California. In 2006 she joined Realogy as COO for CB Real Estate,
and in 2007 she was appointed CEO of BH&G. Currently, she also serves on the Advisory Boards for
Realtor.com and Zillow.
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Joel Singer
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Matt Widdows
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Steve Morris
Founder and Chairman, EXIT Realty Corp. International
Mississauga, Canada
Morris built the EXIT franchise to over 1,000 offices and 30,000+ associates with his innovative
formula, where sales associates receive a residual bonus on the transactions of the sales
associates they bring into the company. His efforts have been recognized by the Canadian
government in the form of grants for EXIT's proprietary software systems.
Pam O'Connor
President and CEO, Leading Real Estate Companies
President and CEO, Move, Inc.
President and CEO, The Corcoran Group
SVP Sales and Marketing, National Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
Goldberg heads up Sales & Marketing, Business Development & Strategic Investments, Professional
Development and Conventions for NAR. His charter is to drive non-dues revenue for NAR, which
allows NAR to expand its membership benefits. He also serves as CEO of the for profit, whollyowned subsidiary, REALTORS® Information Network.
www.SP200.com
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New York, NY
After joining the company in her early 20's, she became the top agent, working her way up to
President and CEO in 2000. In 2001 the company was acquired by the NRT. Today the Corcoran
Group is the largest residential brokerage in New York City and produces over $11 billion in annual
sales through its 47 offices and 2,100+ brokers.
Bob Goldberg
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New York, NY
An executive with extensive leadership experiences across a range of operational roles. At the
President level he has led four different companies and P & L's ($50M - $800M in revenue) to
notable improvement with quantifiable results/outcomes. He has B.A. in Economics from Stanford
University and an MBA from Harvard. O'Hara becomes CEO of Move, Inc. effective January 5, 2015.
Pamela Liebman
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Chicago, IL
O'Connor's near 30-year career has seen her become the first woman to head a global real
estate network of over 500 independent real estate firms in 35+ countries that produce over $200
billion in annual home sales. Previously, she worked in TV, and later owned a public relations firm
specializing in real estate and hospitality.
Ryan O'Hara
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
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President and CEO, BHHS California Realty
San Diego, CA
Cabot served as one of Prudential's most successful office managers for 16 years before he
was tapped to become President and CEO of BHHS California Realty. He leads one of the largest
brokerages in the country with 3,400 sales associates in 59 offices throughout Southern and
Central California.
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The greatest leader is not necessarily the one who does the greatest things.
He is the one that gets the people to do the greatest things.
―RONALD REAGAN
David Cabot
Chief Executive Officer, California Association of REALTORS®
Los Angeles, CA
Singer heads the largest statewide Realtor Association, with 165,000+ members throughout
California. He is also CEO of Ziplogix, the industry's largest real estate forms software program.
Singer received a BA in Economics and History and a MA from UCLA.
Founder and Chairman, HomeSmart International
Phoenix, AZ
Since founding HomeSmart in 2000, he has grown it into the largest real estate brokerage in the
Southwest. With strong implementation of agent-empowering technologies, and by stressing the
values of uniqueness and individualism in his company, he led a team of 4,700+ agents to produce
$4.8 billion last year.
Bob Hale
President and CEO, Houston Association of REALTORS®
Houston, TX
Since the beginning of his tenure as CEO in 1988, Hale has cultivated HAR into the second largest
local REALTOR® Association in the country with over 28,000 members. His forward thinking and
ability to embrace technology has led to the association's rapid growth and success; their new
website generates over 3 million visitors each month.
Keith Rabois
Founder and CEO, Opendoor
San Francisco, CA
Recently, this successful entrepreneur has aimed his focus on the world of real estate, launching
OpenDoor this year, a service that promises to transform the process of selling a home through
technology. Rabois has enjoyed unparalleled success as an entrepreneur, executive, and investor
with PayPal, LinkedIn, Yelp, YouTube and AirBnB.
Kevin J Kelleher
CEO and President, Cartus Corporation
New York City, NY
He brings 30+ years of industry experience to bear in his current role leading this global relocation
subsidiary of Realogy. He manages 2,900 employees in more than 20 offices on four continents
that serve 50 percent of the Fortune 50 with corporate group moves, international assignments,
and government / military programs.
Philip White
President and CEO, Sotheby's International Realty
Madison, NJ
White, a 34-year industry veteran, has been with Sotheby's since 1980, holding many positions
including owner of his own independent affiliate, and has spent 12 years with the NRT. White rose
to his current position in 2013 and oversees 160,000 affiliated sales associates in 730 offices in 56
countries. Sotheby's action house was founded in 1744.
Jerry Giovaniello
SVP and Chief Lobbyist, National Association of REALTORS®
Washington, DC
Giovaniello has been NAR's top lobbyist since 2001 and is the most powerful lobbyist on Capitol Hill.
He manages NAR's government affairs team of 40 people in Washington, D.C. Before joining NAR,
he was chief of staff for two members of Congress. He received a BA from New York University and
was an Officer in Vietnam.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Charlie Young
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Bradley Inman
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William Raveis
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Rich A Rector
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Founder and Publisher, INMAN News
San Francisco, CA
Inman's impact on the industry dates back to his syndicated column with the San Francisco
Examiner. In 1983, he founded Inman News and has since become the most successful online
news service in the real estate industry. Inman also hosts the popular Real Estate Connect
conference. He is co-founder of Homegain, TurnHere Inc., and Vook, Inc.
Lennox Scott
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Madison, NJ
Since 2009 he has led the rebuilding and re-positioning of the ERA brand oversees, and the
implementation of growth and profitability strategies for ERA's member brokers. Young has more
than 20 years of industry experience, which includes 5 years in senior management at Coldwell
Banker Real Estate.
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President, ERA Franchise Systems
Chairman and CEO, John L. Scott Real Estate
Bellevue, WA
Lennox Scott is the third generation to lead his family's business that was founded in 1931. As
CEO since 1976 he has been instrumental in expanding this single office, Seattle-based firm,
into a company with 110+ branches throughout Washington, Oregon, and Idaho that is annually
responsible for $ 9.3 billion in sales.
President and CEO, Williams Raveis Real Estate
Shelton, CT
Raveis founded the company in 1974, and from its humble beginnings he turned it into one of the
largest brokerage companies in the country with 70 offices that produced over $7 billion in sales
last year. He has been chosen as Entrepreneur of the Year by Ernst & Young, and he holds a BS
from the University of Dayton.
President, Realty Executives International
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Richard Smith
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Lawrence Flick, IV
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David Charron
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Gary Simonsen
Scottsdale, AZ
Co-Presidents, Real Estate One
Southfield, MI
Brothers Dan and Stuart Elsea are third-generation family owners that jointly run this 85 year-old
company, now the largest real estate company in Michigan. They produced over $4.2 billion in sales
last year with almost 25,000 transactions.
Allen Tate
Chief Executive Officer, Allen Tate Companies
Charlotte, NC
With more than 50 years in the industry, Tate founded the "one-stop-shopping" giant of the
Carolinas that generated $4.5 billion in annual sales through its 1,400+ real estate professionals.
Tate is committed to his community and is an active participant in its affairs. He graduated from the
University of North Carolina.
Vinnie Tracey
President, RE/MAX
Denver, CO
Tracey has been with RE/MAX since 1987, fulfilling various roles within the company. Since 2004 he
has headed all of RE/MAX International's operations, representing its membership in national and
international industry organizations. He is also the immediate Past Chair of the Board of Governors
for Children's Miracle Network.
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
Bryan, TX
Smith improved an already successful company by joining with Coldwell Banker Residential
Affiliates in 1986 and has since grown the Richard Smith Company into the largest CB affiliate in
the network. In 2014 he acquired Henry S. Miller Realtors and continues to expand the company's
presence in Texas, the Florida panhandle, and Colorado.
President and CEO, BHHS Fox & Roach
Devon, PA
A 50-year veteran within the real estate industry, Flick built Fox & Roach into one of the most
successful real estate brokerages in the country. He achieved this growth through a strategy that
enacted 40 mergers and acquisitions. In 2013 BHHS acquired the company and it changed to
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Fox and Roach.
CEO and President, MRIS
Rockville, MD
Charron oversees operations for one of the nation's largest MLS systems, which is responsible
for nearly $100 billion in real estate transactions each year. MRIS supports over 43,000 real estate
professionals spanning the Mid-Atlantic region. Prior to joining MRIS in 2001 he was the President
of an Internet-based business consulting practice.
Chief Executive Officer, Canada Real Estate Association
Ottawa, ON
Simonsen has been the CEO since 2008, representing over 100,000 Realtors throughout Canada.
He previously served as an Associate Executive Officer for the association and six years as the
Executive Officer of the Winnipeg Real Estate Board. Simonsen has been in the industry since 1984,
and holds a BS from Wilfrid Laurier University.
Leadership is the art of getting someone else to do something
you want done because he wants to do it.
Founded by his father in 1965, Rector purchased Realty Executives International and became its
President in 1980. He has grown the company to 10,000 agents in 500 franchises in more than
20 countries. Rector graduated from Stanford University in 1975 and has 40 years of industry
experience.
Dan Elsea & Stuart Elsea
President and CEO, Coldwell Banker United REALTORS®
―DWIGHT D. EISENHOWER
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Chris Polychron
2015 President, National Association of REALTORS®
Hot Spring, AZ
Polychron is the 2015 President of NAR. He has served on the NAR's Board of Directors since
2002, served as President of the Arkansas REALTOR® Association in 2003 and President of the
Hot Springs Board of REALTORS® in 1996. He has over 25 years of industry experience and is an
Executive Broker with 1st Choice Realty in Hot Springs, Arkansas.
Robert N. Sibcy
President and CEO, Sibcy Cline Realtors
Cincinnati, OH
A third-generation leader and 45+ year veteran in the industry, Sibcy heads this regional
powerhouse in Cincinnati and Kentucky. He oversees 1,100+ agents that closed 11,000 transactions
last year. He serves as Director of the Realty Alliance, the Armrel Byrnes Company, the Myers Y.
Cooper Company, and is chairman of the Board of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Dale Ross
President and CEO, Realtors Property Resource
Chicago, IL
Ross heads RPR, the venture formed by the NAR to develop a national real estate property-centric
database for its members. Ross also co-founded MRIS and served as its President / CEO for seven
years. In 1985, he served as President of the Montgomery County Association of REALTORS®, and
is a graduate of the University of Maryland, College Park.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Jeffrey Detwiler
President and COO, Long and Foster
Chantilly, VA
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Detwiler leads the strategic direction and operations of one of the largest privately owned real
estate companies in the U.S. with 170 offices throughout the Mid-Atlantic region. He has over 20
years of experience that include positions within almost all facets of the mortgage industry. He
graduated from Princeton University.
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Scott Shaw
Co-Founder and CEO, Sutton Realty Group
Vancouver, Canada
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This media-shy Chinese immigrant founded his company in 1983 with Lance Tracey. Today, Sutton
Realty has more than 200 franchises with 8,000 agents generating $9 billion in annual sales. Shaw
serves as a director of various public companies in the technology and internet sectors.
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Tami Bonnell
Chief Executive Officer, EXIT Realty Corp. International
West Burlington, MA
With her 30 years of industry experience, Bonnell has been operating as the CEO of Exit Realty
since 2001 and has been instrumental in building three major brands of the company. Bonnell
has been a speaker at the NAR convention and The Women's Council of REALTORS®, and hosts a
quarterly, online seminar that informs the public on real estate issues.
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Amy Bohutinsky
Chief Marketing Officer, Zillow
Seattle, WA
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Bohutinsky heads all marketing and communications at Zillow, including brand, public relations,
mobile, social-media marketing, email, business development, and advertising. She has been
instrumental to its significant brand and traffic growth. Prior to joining Zillow in 2005, Amy ran
communications for discount travel site Hotwire.
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Stephen Phillips
Chief Operating Officer, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices
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Having previously held the office of EVP and COO for GMAC Home Services and CEO of GMAC
Relocation Services, Phillips brings a wealth of experience to his current role, Prior to entering real
estate, Phillips worked at US Bancorp, overseeing a $2 billion portfolio for large corporate clients.
He who has great power should use it lightly.
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Irvine, CA
Greg Schwartz
Chief Revenue Officer, Zillow
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Schwartz is responsible for all Zillow sales and business strategy. He also structured and now
manages the largest real estate ad network in partnership with Yahoo! Homes. Previously, he
served as VP of Advertising at CNNMoney and as a National Accounts Director for Yahoo!
Automotive and Finance Properties.
Geoff Wood
Chief Executive Officer, Windermere Real Estate
Seattle, WA
As CEO since 2003 Wood has been instrumental in growing the Windemere Services Company into
new markets in 7 states. He received a MBA from the University of Washington, and a Bachelor's
from Whitman College. He is married to Jill, the granddaughter of the company's founder, John
Sacobi, and they now run the company with Jill's brother, OB.
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
President, Homes.com
Norfold, VA
With 15 years of media and technology experience, Mele in 2014 was tapped to take over as CEO
and oversee overall business strategy and day-to-day operations of Homes.com. Prior to joining
Homes.com, Mele served as publisher of The Virginian-Pilot and president of Pilot Media, a
diversified media company.
Maureen Passerini
Executive Vice President, NRT Northeast Region
Madison, NJ
Passerini is EVP of the Eastern Seaboard and Northeast Regions of NRT. She also oversees the
company's eight Coldwell Banker branded operations, and the NRT's ERA-branded operation in
Harrisburg, PA. She is responsible for the strategic initiatives of more than 200 offices and over
12,000 sales associates.
Mary Frances Burleson
President and CEO, Ebby Halliday Real Estate
Dallas, TX
Ms. Burleson joined Ebby Halliday in 1958. As CEO she paralleled the growth of the firm from
three offices to five brands, 30 offices, 1,600+ staff and sales associates and $6.4 billion in annual
sales. After more than half a century she still manages the day-to-day operations of Texas' largest
independent real estate brokerage.
Greg Mason
President and CEO, Edina Realty Home Services
Minneapolis, MN
As the newly appointed CEO of Edina Realty Home Services, Mason is now part of the senior
management team for HomeServices of America. He heads the region's largest residential real
estate firm, with 60 offices throughout Minnesota and Wisconsin. He has a BS in Biology from the
University of North Dakota and a Juris Doctor from William Mitchell College of Law.
Cameron Merage
President and CEO, First Team Real Estate
Irvine, CA
In 1976 Merage founded First Team Real Estate in Orange County, CA. As President and CEO, he
has grown it into one of the largest independent real estate firms in California, with 1,700+ agents
that produces over $5.8 billion annually, specializing in the sale of residential properties valued at
$2 million and up.
Martin Rueter
President, Weichert Real Estate Affiliates
Morris Plains, NJ
Rueter is a fourth-generation Realtor , with deep roots in the industry. He heads up the 275
franchise division of Weichert Realtors. Previously, Rueter was instrumental in helping grow
Centrury 21, joining the company in the mid 1970's and rising to the level of Senior Vice President.
®
—SENECA
Seattle, WA
David Mele
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Robert McAdams, Jr.
President, Real Living Real Estate
Irvine, CA
McAdams brought his 20 years of industry experience to the company in 2002 as VP of Finance
and has served as its President since 2012. He has been integral to the company's success, and
under his leadership it has been recognized by Entrepreneur Magazine as one of the best innovative
concepts. He received his BS from Clarion University.
Greg Macres
Executive Vice President, NRT West
Concord, CA
Macres leads NRT's operations in Northern California, Colorado, Utah, and Hawaii, from sales
training to real estate management and career guidance training. In the late 80's he became
an owner of Contempo Realty, successfully growing it until it was acquired by the NRT. He also
founded the Children's Gaucher Research Fund.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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David Osborn
Regional Owner, Keller Williams Realty International
Dallas , TX
Osborn has ownership in three regions and is the number one franchise in the Keller Williams family
accounting for over 5,000 transactions a year. He is also Operating Principal for three other regions.
Paul Levine
Chief Operating Officer, Trulia
Chairman and CEO, @Properties
Chicago, IL
Golden and Wong are co-founders of @properties (established in 2000), which is considered a
new paradigm business model. They rapidly grew the company to 1,300 agents, producing 10,000
transactions per year totaling over $4.5 billion in sales.
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Chris Bennett
General Manager, Corelogic
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Greensboro, NC
Steve Ozonian
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Irvine, CA
Ozonian has had a remarkable real estate career. He served as a senior executive with Sorrento
Capitol, RealEstate.com, Help-U-Sell, BofA, RE/MAX, MOVE Inc, Realtor.com, Prudential, and CB. In
his new role he is leading the portfolio of its real estate affiliates and building a new national real
estate company-owned brokerage.
President and CEO, Long Companies
Tucson, AZ
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Koberlein has been with the Long Realty Company since 1991, holding positions in both branch
and senior management. As CEO she oversees the leadership for all Long Companies, including
Brokerage, Mortgage, and Title and Insurance, overseeing more than 1,400 licensed real estate
associates in more than 39 offices.
Mary Tennant
President, Keller Williams Realty International
Austin, TX
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As President of North America's largest real estate franchise, Tennant has helped lead Keller
Williams Realty to record growth, productivity, and profitability gains. Since her promotion to COO
in 2006 she oversees all franchise headquarters' operations, including the company's training
activities. She is also owner of various KW market centers.
Linda M Vaughan
President and CEO, ReeceNichols
Kansas City, MO
Created by the 2002 merger of J.D. Reece Realtors and J.C. Nichols Real Estate, Vaughan now
heads the largest residential real estate firm in Kansas City with 1,900+ agents in 20 offices;
ReeceNichols, Inc., a subsidiary of BHHS. Vaughan has over 35 years of industry experience and
has served as the company's president since 2005.
www.SP200.com
Bellevue, WA
Riss is the CEO and Owner of Landover Corporation, the holding company of Coldwell Banker Bain
and Coldwell Banker Seal, which own and operate 30 offices with over $4.7 billion in annual sales.
His success comes from a strong and strategic drive of acquiring companies.
―PETER F. DRUCKER
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Rosey Koberlein
President and CEO, Coldwell Banker Bain/Seal
Management is doing things right; leadership is doing the right things.
CoreLogic appointed Bennett to head the combined Realist and MarketLinx teams and improve
its MLS product groups. He has been with the company since 2002 and has been instrumental
in driving the MLS system business forward. The company's combined data includes 3.5 billion
records dating back over 40 years.
Chief Real Estate Officer, Carrington Holding Company
Bill Riss
Austin, TX
As Trulia's COO, Levine is responsible for leading the Consumer and Business Services divisions.
He has 15 years of consumer Internet experience and most recently served as President of Digital
at Current TV. He is also an investor to numerous Bay Area start-ups. He has an M.B.A. from
Stanford University.
Michael Golden &
Thaddeus Wong
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
Art Carter
Chief Executive Officer, California Regional MLS
San Dimas, CA
Carter is the driving force behind the data share revolution and the unification of California MLSs,
forming the largest MLS in the nation with more than 75,000 member agents from 34 Associations.
He serves on the Board of the Real Estate Standards Organization and is past President of the
Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS).
Austin Allison
President and CEO, Dotloop
Cincinnati, OH
Founder and CEO of dotloop, where agents come together online to complete entire real estate
transactions; so far more than 7 million buyers and sellers. In 2012 he was listed among Forbes 30
under 30, and was featured on the cover of Entrepreneur Magazine's "Young Millionaires" edition.
U. Gary Charlwood
Executive Chairman, Century 21 Canada
Vancouver, BC
In 1975 Charlwood and a partner founded Century 21 Real Estate Canada, growing it into one of the
largest companies in the country with more than 400 locations and 8,000+ salespeople. He is also
a major shareholder in the Century 21's reach into China and other countries in Asia.
Paul Morris
President and CEO, Keller Williams Forward Management
Beverly Hills, CA
Morris is Regional Director and part owner of KW's second largest franchise, overseeing its
operations in Central and Southern California with ownership in 40 offices with more than 8,200
agents. Morris has a degree in economics, a Masters in Management from Oxford University, and a
JD from Cornell Law School.
Stephen Baird
President and COO, Baird and Warner
Chicago, IL
Baird heads this family-owned firm, one of the oldest residential real estate brokerages in the nation;
established in 1855. He is a former Chairman of The Realty Alliance and graduate of Harvard
University, where he continues to remain active. The company generates more than $4 billion in
annual sales with approximately 1,600 agents in 23 offices.
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Joe Horning
President and CEO, Shorewest REALTORS®
Brookfield, WI
Horning is the third-generation leader of this family-owned brokerage, and with his brother John
who serves as EVP, he oversees the Shorewest Family of Companies. Additionally, he serves on
the Board of Directors of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World, is VP of Metro MLS, and is
Chairman of the MLS Policy Forum for NAR.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Walter Schneider
President and Co-Founder, RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada
Ontario, Canada
Schneider co-founded RE/MAX Ontario-Atlantic Canada Inc. in 1980 with his partner, Frank Polzler.
Today RE/MAX is one of the two largest real estate franchises in Canada. Worldwide expansion has
led to global success and the two now control 30 percent of the global RE/MAX network, with more
than 2,400 offices and 29,000 sales associates.
Tom Gonser
Founder & Chief Strategy Officer, DocuSign
San Francisco, CA
Gonser is considered by many to be the father of electronic signatures and in creating DocuSign
he has changed the way real estate transactions take place. His innovation is used to facilitate
the online exchanges of contracts, tax documents, and legal materials. Previously, he co-founded
NetUPDATE, an online transaction management system.
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Jon Coile
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Tom Tognoli
―JOSS WHEDON
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Mark McLaughlin
Chief Executive Officer, Pacific Union International
San Francisco, CA
McLaughlin acquired Pacific Union in 2009 and retooled it with the adaptation of technology
applications. His changes helped to grow the company to almost 5,000 transactions a year totaling
over $5.5 billion. Previously, he built Morgan Lane into Marin County's premier luxury brand in just
three years.
Stan Humphries
Chief Economist, Zillow
Seattle, WA
Humphries leads Zillow's economic and analytic team, and has become the most quoted
economist in the real estate industry. He is in charge of calculating all statistics on the housing
market, including the Zillow Home Value Index. As a respected expert, he regularly appears on
national broadcasts and in the media. He holds a Ph.D. in Government.
Earl Lee
SVP Special projects, HSF Affiliates
Chairman and CEO, Movoto
Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Results
Eden Prairie, MN
In 2014 Collopy acquired Marshall Saunders' half of the company, making him sole owner. Since 2008
he and Saunders doubled the number of agents to 900+ throughout Minneapolis and Wisconsin. With
annual sales over $2.4 billion it is now one of the largest RE/MAX franchises in the world.
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San Mateo, CA
Stating that they (Movoto) want to be the most trafficked real estate website, and climbing to #7
nationally in 2014, makes Movoto an interesting play to watch. Movoto is now also licensed in 30
states and CEO Shiro brings a depth of growth and business development experience from his time
at the Japanese real estate website "SUUMO" and work in China.
John Collopy
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Irvine, CA
Lee is a longtime executive brought in to assist with the transition after the Berkshire Hathaway
acquisition of Prudential Real Estate Affiliates. After two years at the helm of HSF Affiliates as CEO
Lee is stepping down in Jan 2015 to take on Special Projects and international expansion of the
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices brand.
Takeuchi Shiro
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
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President and CEO, NRT/Sotheby's International Realty
New York, NY
Korte is President and CEO of Sotheby's International Realty Inc., and coordinates 1,800 agents in
43 brokerage offices in trophy locations for parent company NRT LLC.; accounting for about $17
billion in annual sales volume. 2014 saw the landmark acquisition of Martha Turner Properties with
an annual sales volume of over $2 billion.
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Recognizing power in another does not diminish your own.
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Kathy Korte
President and CEO, Champion Realty
Annapolis, MD
Coile heads the Maryland partner company of HomeServices of America, Inc., which is affiliated
with Berkshire Hathaway. He is also Chairman of MRIS, the MLS for the Mid-Atlantic region, a
member of the Move, Inc. advisory board, Board member of The Realty Alliance, and co-founder of
FairDisplay.org.
President and CEO, Intero Real Estate Services
Cupertino, CA
Tognoli has 25 years of industry experience and is one of Intero's founding partners. He is an
active participant in all aspects of the company, notably through his leadership in the redesign of
Interorealestate.com and the company's agent productivity suite of tools. He was promoted from
COO to CEO in 2014 after the acquisition of Intero by BHHS.
Pierre Titley
President, RE/MAX Quebec
Quebec, Canada
After acquiring the regional franchise rights in 1982, Titley rapidly grew RE/MAX throughout the
province, now with over 3,500 brokers spread across 136 franchises. Of the many corporate
success stories in Quebec, the almost instant success of the RE/MAX banner in the real estate
industry is by far one of the most spectacular.
Merle Whitehead
President and CEO, RealtyUSA
Williamsville, NY
A 25+ year industry veteran, he is owner and CEO of one of the largest independent real estate
companies in New York State, with 56 offices that generated $3.3 billion in sales last year. He also
serves as Director of Buffalo Niagara Enterprise, Inc.
Tom Ferry
Founder and CEO, YourCoach.com
Newport Beach, CA
One of the most sought after coaches in the industry with over 1.5 million views on Youtube.
Hosted over 400 events in 2014 in just about every nook and cranny in the country. His company
has coached and conducted training for more than 250,000 salespeople. Ferry is a New York
Times' bestselling author with his book Life! by Design.
Pat Riley
President and COO, Allen Tate Companies
Charlotte, NC
Riley started his career by establishing C. Pat Riley Realtors, which joined Allen Tate Companies in
1992. He has helped lead the company into its #1 position in the Carolinas, and he also serves as a
vice chairman of the board of directors of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World.
Steve Murray
President, Real Trends
Boulder, CO
Murray is president, co-founder, and editor of REAL Trends and has served in that role since the
company's founding in 1987. He hosts the annual Gathering of Eagles conference and publishes
REAL Trends 500 and REAL Trends The Thousand with the Wall Street Journal, ranking of the
nation's top sales professionals.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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37
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Trends | Technology | Thought
2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Nancy Seaman
Chairman and CEO, Houlihan Lawrence
Rye Brook, NY
Together with her brothers Stephen and Chris Meyers, Seaman took control of the 125 year-old
company in 1990, leading 1,100+ agents to sales of over $4.7 billion last year. The company's 26
offices cover the areas of Westchester, Fairfield, Putnam, and Dutchess counties.
Lawrence Yun
SVP and Chief Economist, National Association of REALTORS®
Washington, DC
As Chief Economist and SVP for NAR, Yun creates economic forecasts and participates in
forecasting panels, including Blue Chip and the Harvard University Industrial Economist Council.
He is a regular contributor to financial news outlets. He received his Ph.D. from the University of
Maryland at College Park.
Kate Rossi
Executive Vice President, NRT Southeast Region
Sarasota, FL
In her current role she oversees the strategic initiatives of over 140 CB Residential Real Estate
and CB Residential Brokerage offices throughout the Southwestern U.S. Rossi began her career
as a sales associate in 1982 and quickly rose through the ranks, becoming the Advisory Council
Chairperson for the Cartus Broker Network in 2006.
Mark Lesswing
SVP and CTO, National Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
Lesswing oversees the association's information technology initiatives, serving in his current
position since 2006. He previously held management positions with large database vendors
Sybase and Oracle. He graduated from Lehigh University with a BS in Industrial Engineering and
began programming robots directly after college.
Brian Buffini
Founder and CEO, Buffini and Company
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Joan Docktor
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Andrew Florence
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President and CEO, CBSHOME Real Estate
In 1998, Valenti became President and CEO of CBSHOME when HomeServices acquired and
merged HOME Realty and CBS Realty. He is a past President of the Omaha Board of REALTORS®
and has been a leader in the Nebraska REALTORS® Association. He earned a degree in Business
Administration from the University of Nebraska, Lincoln.
Richard Lull
Chief Executive Officer, Black Knight Financial Services
Irvine, CA
Lull began his career with Black Knight Financial Services as VP in 2005. With more than 200 MLS
customers he and his team deliver innovative and reliable technology and tools to 250,000 real
estate professionals. Previously, he spent 30+ years in technology, working for companies like IBM,
Fujitsu, Dell, and others.
Teresa King Kinney
Chief Executive Officer, Miami Association of REALTORS®
Miami, FL
King Kinney heads the largest local REALTORS® Association in the nation, with 35,000 members,
and is past Chairman of the Board for the Florida Society of Association Executives. The
association has the largest local International Council and has official partnerships with more than
125 international organizations throughout the world.
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
Chief Executive Officer, Co-Star Group
Washington, DC
Florence founded his company in 1987 and has grown it from a start up to a staff of 2,000 world
wide. He conceived and co-authored the study resulting in the 2010 launch of the widely regarded
CoStar Commercial Repeat-Sale Indices (CCRSI). In 2014, CoStar bought Aparment.com for $585
million.
Michael Saunders
Founder and CEO, Michael Saunders & Co.
Sarasota, FL
A third-generation Sarasotan, Saunders founded her brokerage in 1976 and built her company into
one of the largest independent brokerages in Florida with over $2.1 billion in sales this year. In 2003,
her son Drayton joined the company, and and today serves as President of the company.
Merrily Hackett
Managing Partner, Sutton Group, West Coast Realty
Burnaby, Canada
Sutton West Coast Realty is the largest brokerage in Canada with 25 offices, approximately 1,700
agents, 14,000 annual transactions, and $9 billion in annual sales volume. Hackett is the Managing
Partner.
Carlsbad, CA
Omaha, NE
Devon, PN
Docktor began with the company as a real estate sales associate in 1986 and has steadily risen
through its ranks, holding a number of positions along the way. She has been instrumental in the
company's growth to over 60 offices and 4,000 sales associates. She was previously a board
member of The Realty Alliance and Trend MLS.
Leadership is an action, not a position.
In 1995, Irish-born entrepreneur Buffini established his business in San Diego, California. Since
then he has provided training and coaching to hundreds of thousands of agents, improving
their business earnings. His system includes a highly effective lead-generation system and a
comprehensive coaching system.
Joe Valenti
President, BHHS Fox & Roach
―DONALD MCGANNON
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Nancy Nagy
Chief Exeutive Officer, Berkshire Hathaway HS KoenigRubloff
Chicago, IL
Nagy serves as CEO of HomeServices of Illinois, LLC as well as Berkshire Hathaway Homeservices
KoenigRubloff. Previously, Nagy served as CEO of Koenig & Strey GMAC before the company was
acquired by BHHS and merged with Prudential Rubloff. She formerly served as a member of the
Executive Committee of the Chicago Association of REALTORS®.
Chad Ochsner
Broker/Owner, RE/MAX Alliance
Arvada, CO
Ochsner is a second-generation Realtor® who owns one of the largest real estate companies in
Colorado, with over $3.6 billion in annual sales. He serves on various boards, including Trulia and
Realtor.com, and is a director for the Colorado Association of REALTORS®. Previously, he served on
the Member Broker Advisory Board at Zillow, Inc.
Dan Parmer
President and CEO, Harry Norman REALTORS®
Atlanta, GA
As CEO and President, Parmer oversees the continued growth of Atlanta's oldest and largest real
estate firm, with over 20 offices that encompass Georgia and North Carolina. Parmer has 25+ years
of experience in the Atlanta residential real estate business, previously serving as President and
CEO of Jenny Pruitt & Associates.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
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2015 Swanepoel POWER 200
TOP 200 Leaders
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Kevin Wiles
President, Berkshire Hathaway HS PenFed Realty
Reston, VA
In his 25+ years of industry experience in the Metropolitan DC area, Wiles has owned and operated
several local residential real estate companies. Since becoming the founding President and
Principal Broker of PenFed Realty in 2006, he has helped grow it from a single office to over 50
branches with 1,300+ agents.
Syd Leibovitch
Founder and CEO, Rodeo Realty
Beverly Hills, CA
Leibovitch heads one of the top residential real estate firms in Los Angeles and Ventura counties,
with 1,100+ agents and over $3.6 billion in annual sales. He began selling real estate at 23 and
forged a brokerage out of his garage in 1986. His company's celebrity and other listings are
regularly featured in the LA Times and E! News.
Rei Mesa
President and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HS Florida Realty
Sunrise, FL
With 30+ years of industry experience, Mesa leads a team of over 1,400 agents in 39 locations
throughout Florida. He currently serves as a Director for the National Association of REALTORS®
and on the Advisory Board for Realtor.com. At Florida REALTORS® he serves on the Executive
Committee, Real Estate Services Group.
Bradley J. DeVries
Regional President & CEO, Huff Realty
Louisville, KY
DeVries heads this full service firm, covering the diverse markets of Northern Kentucky, Greater
Cincinnati, and Southeastern Indiana, through its more than 680 associates. He has been with the
company since 1999. Previously, he served in the Marine Corps during the Persian Gulf War. He
earned a bachelor's from Centre College.
Dianna Kokoszka
CEO of MAPS, Keller Williams Realty International
Austin, TX
Bringing her 30 years of industry experience to bear, she heads a team of more than 100 MAPS
coaches that provide programs to help clients build on Keller Williams' business models. She leads
and helped build the largest training center within a national real estate franchise.
Power isn’t control at all — power is strength, and giving that strength to
others. A leader isn’t someone who forces others to make him stronger;
a leader is someone willing to give his strength to others that they may
have the strength to stand on their own.
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Lanny Baker
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Katherine Johnson
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Todd Hetherington
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Dan Forsman
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John Featherston
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Jeff Culbertson
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Ed Krafchow
Chairman, BH&G Mason-McDuffie Real Estate
Pleasanton, CA
Krafchow leads a team of 1,100+ agents in 30 offices and has grown the company from $1 to $3
billion in sales this year. Krafchow has been closely involved with the development of WebTop
Intranet, his company's technology platform for generating leads and creating efficient business
processes. RISMedia awarded him the Leadership Award in 2012.
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
San Francisco, CA
Baker joined Zip Realty as CFO in 2008 and became CEO in 2010, building the company to 1,700+
agents that produced almost $3 billion in sales. In 2014 the company was acquired by and is now a
subsidiary of Realogy and Baker remains on as CEO. Technology was key driver of the transaction
and his role in Realogy, although unclear, seems promising.
General Counsel, National Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
Johnson joined NAR in 2007 and, prior to becoming general counsel in 2014, she focused on
software and data licensing, trademark protection, contract drafting and review, data security and
privacy, and brokerage risk management. Johnson is currently pursuing a master's degree for
Information Technology and Privacy Law.
Chief Executive Officer, Century 21 New Millennium
Alexandria, VA
Based out of Alexandria, Virginia, Hetherington heads a firm whose 800+ agents generated over
$2.4 billion in sales last year. His company's reach spans Virginia, Maryland, and the District of
Columbia, providing on-site mortgage, title services, property management, and access to a
network of relocation services.
President and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway Georgia Properties
Atlanta , GA
Under Forsman's leadership, Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Georgia Properties has become the
market leader in the Metro Atlanta area. Forsman previously held positions as CFO, EVP, and COO
before he became President of Prudential Georgia Realty in 1999, selling the company to BHHS in
2013.
Founder and Publisher, RISMedia
Norwalk, CT
In 1980 Featherston founded RISMedia, and has grown his company into one of the two leading
real estate media organizations. He publishes the Real Estate Magazine, hosts the CEO Exchange,
the Power Broker Forum, the Power Broker Dinner, and the RISMedia Top 5 in Real Estate Network.
Executive Vice President, NRT Southwest and Sacramento Region
Irvine, CA
Culbertson is a 33-year industry veteran and is currently responsible for the NRT offices throughout
Arizona and California. Concurrently, he serves as President at Coldwell Banker Residential
Brokerage Orange County, Desert Resorts, and San Diego.
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Paul Breunich
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Candace Adams
—BETH REVIS, ACROSS THE UNIVERSE
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President and CEO, zipRealty
President and Owner, William Pitt/Julia B Fee Sotheby's Realty
Stamford, CT
As head of the largest Sotheby's International Realty affiliate in the world, Breunich led the company
through its most prolific growth cycle, and produced over $3.3 billion in sales this year. From 19881997 he held the firm's CFO position, at which point he took over its ownership.
President and CEO, BHHS New England Properties
Wallingford, CT
Under her guidance the company has grown to 1,600 sales executives and 52 locations throughout
Connecticut and Rhode Island, generating annual sales of over $6 billion. Formerly known as
Prudential Connecticut Realty, the company was acquired by HSA and changed its name to
Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices New England Properties in 2013.
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Travis Kessler
Chief Executive Officer, Texas Association of REALTORS®
Austin, TX
Kessler became the President/CEO of the Texas Association of REALTORS in February 2010.
Previously, he was the CEO for the San Antonio Board of REALTORS® for twelve years and the
CEO for the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS® for ten years. He is a graduate of the
University of Texas at Austin.
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Craig Cheatham
Chief Executive Officer, Realty Alliance
Dallas, TX
Cheatham has recently gained notoriety in his current role as CEO and spokesperson for the Reality
Alliance, where he represents 66 of the largest brokerages in the country. He was formerly the CEO
of ARELLO, and holds a bachelor's degree from Harding University and an MBA from Samford
University.
Clay Fouts
President and Owner, West USA Realty
Phoenix, AZ
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Fouts founded his company in 1986, and in just 4 years he turned it into the largest real estate firm
in Arizona. He now leads 1,400+ agents that produced over $2.1 billion last year. Fouts has 40 years
of real estate experience. Previously, he had a career in financial planning, opening his own firm in
Phoenix, licensed with the SEC and NASD.
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Ebby Halliday
Broker/Owner, Ebby Halliday REALTORS®
Dallas, TX
Halliday has earned her reputation in Dallas through over 60 years of service within the industry.
She has grown her company into one of the largest, privately owned residential real estate firms in
the country. At the age of 97, she was named honorary chair of NAR's 100th Anniversary Gala Black
Tie Dinner.
Grier Allen
Founder and CEO, BoomTown
Charleston, SC
Grier heads one of the fastest growing real estate software as a service (SaaS) companies
according to Inc. magazine; founded in 2006. As CEO, Allen has over 10 years of experience in
software development and real estate and holds a degree in Computer Science. Previously, he
worked for SLANT Media, creating web marketing campaigns.
William Watson
Chairman of the Board, Watson Realty Corp
Jacksonville, FL
President & CEO, EWM Realtors®
Alhambra, CA
Chairman and Co-Founder, Auction.com
Irvine, CA
Friedman is the co-founder of Auction.com, LLC, founded in 1990, and serves as its Chairman of
the Board. He has 20+ years of industry experience and is the author of "The Auction Revolution."
Auction.com annually sells over $7.4 billion of commercial and residential real estate, and in 2014
got a $50 million investment from Google.
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
New Orleans, LA
Merrick heads the largest ERA affiliate in the world, with companies that include Latter & Blum, CJ
Brown, Noles-Frye, and Van Eaton & Romero. The company is comprised of a residential division,
relocation division, commercial division, property management, insurance, and financing services
with annual sales exceeding $2 billion.
Chris Meyers
Managing Principal, Houlihan Lawrence
Rye Brook, NY
Meyers, with his brother, Stephen and sister Nancy Seaman, acquired Houlihan Lawrence in 1990.
As managing principal he heads the daily operations of this 25 office, 1,200 agent-company, helping
to grow it into the largest independently owned real estate brokerages in the Westchester, Putnam,
and Dutchess counties of New York.
Dan Duffy
Chief Executive Officer, United Real Estate
Kansas City, MO
Duffy has successfully secured capital to create a new paradigm cafe lounge real estate shop. They
are expanding and will end the year with 25 offices and 1,100 agents, having sold 4,200 properties.
Remember, they also still have a rural company called United Country that has 465 offices and
2,800 agents.
―ROSALYNN CARTER
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Shuffield and his business partner, Al Harper, purchased EWM (Esslinger Wooten Maxwell Realtors®)
in 1984 and grew it to 10 offices and 650+ sales associates. The company was sold to BHHS in 2003,
but Shuffield has continued as President/CEO of this $2 billion powerhouse in south Florida.
Robert Friedman
Chairman and CEO, Latter & Blum ERA
A leader takes people where they want to go. A great leader takes people
where they don't necessarily want to go, but ought to be.
Watson serves as Chairman of Watson Realty Corp. with over 40 sales offices, 22 Property
Management Offices, and Watson Commercial Realty. He has served in many leadership positions
with local and state associations including President of the Florida Association of Realtors. He is a
Graduate of Stetson University with a major in real estate.
Ron Shuffield
Robert Merrick
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Matt Crumbaugh
President and CEO, Allison James Estates and Homes
Punta Gorda, FL
Since bringing his management skills and entrepreneurial background to AJI in 2009, Crumbaugh has
helped expand this Internet-based Real Estate Brokerage into one of the new paradigm companies to
watch. The company has 700+ agents in 15 states that achieved over over $1.4 billion in annual sales.
Bryan Fair
Principal, Keller Williams Realty Pinnacle Partners
Lawrenceville, GA
Fair is the operating principal for 12 KW market centers that comprise over 1,400 agents and
represent $2 billion in annual sales. In 2004 he earned the KWRI Entrepreneur of the Year Award.
His wife Marci and their team started Keller Williams Realty Atlanta Partners "Kares 4 Kids" a charity
that will give to over 2000 children in need this year.
Joe Reis
Chief Executive Officer, Coldwell Banker Burnet Home Services
Minneapolis, MN
CBBHS is comprised of 25 offices and nearly 2,000 sales associates operating throughout the
Twin Cities. Reis serves as EVP of the NRT's operations in the Central Region including Minnesota/
Western Wisconsin, Chicago/Milwaukee, Cincinnati, Columbus, and St. Louis, as well as offices
within areas of Indiana and Michigan.
Lorne Wallace
Founder and CEO, Lone Wolf Real Estate Technologies
Cambridge, ON
Wallace is the Founder and CEO of this Canada-based provider of enterprise and accounting
solutions for real estate brokerages. Lone Wolf services approximaely 10,000 real estate offices and
250,000 agents. Wallace is a University of Toronto graduate and a Chartered Accountant who has
specialized in real estate brokerage accounting since 1989.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Jim Harrison
President and CEO, MLSListings Inc
Sunnyvale, CA
Harrison leads one of the largest MLSs in Northern California. In 2014 he changed the structure and
ownership of the company and is now focused on being an innovator in MLS on a national level. In
his 25+ year career, he formerly served as President and CEO for RE InfoLink as well as on the NAR
MLS Policy Committee for nine years.
Mark Woodruff
Managing Partner, BH&G Gary Greene REALTORS®
Houston, TX
In 2000, Woodruff became a principal in Prudential Gary Greene, REALTORS®. With partners Marilyn
Eiland and Bill McIlwain, they consolidated assets and formed BH&G Gary Greene, creating a force
of 20 offices throughout the Houston area that is responsible for over $2.2 billion in annual sales.
He is also a member of the Zillow Broker Advisory Board.
Deems Dickinson
President, Russ Lyon Sotheby's International Realty
Scottsdale, AZ
With 30 years of industry experience, Dickinson led his company's 900+ agents to nearly $3
billion in sales last year. His commitment to high ethics and professionalism includes serving as
Chairperson of the Professional Standards Committee for the Arizona Association of Realtors®.
Scott Webber
President, Fuller Sotheby's International Realty
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The key to successful leadership is influence, not authority.
― KENNETH H. BLANCHARD
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Mark Stark
President and CEO, Berkshire Hathaway HS Nevada
Las Vegas, NV
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Stark heads this independently owned and operated company, operating as Berkshire Hathaway
Home Services Nevada. With 20 offices and over 1,400 agents involved in over 10,000 transactions
annually, they are largest residential real estate company in Nevada.
Merri Jo Cowen
Chief Executive Officer, My Florida Regional MLS
Orlando, FL
She oversees one of the 10 largest MLSs in the country, servicing 13 Realtor Associations
and 33,000 members in the Central Florida region. Among Cowen's business moves was the
introduction of Down Payment Resource, an Internet tool that, through third-party resources,
digitally marks listed properties that have down payment resource assistance.
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Curt Beardsley
VP of Industry Development, Zillow
Seattle, WA
Beardsley leads Zillow's MLS and association-focused industry relations, strategy, and outreach. He
has over 20 years working in technology and communications focused on the real estate industry;
with Move, Inc., serving as EVP for Realtor.com and co-founding True North Technology that was
successfully sold to GTE Enterprise Solutions Group.
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
Partners, WAV Group
Arroyo Grande, CA
Lundt, with his wife and business partner, Wilson, own the WAV Group, where they help companies
operationalize technology change. Lundt is also founder and CEO of the online real estate publication
RETechnology.com, which offers product reviews of real estate software by partnering with MLS
companies.
Denver, CO
Webber is a third-generation industry veteran with 35+ years of experience. He spent 20 years
with Coldwell Banker where he built and was president of a 26-office residential and commercial
company. Today he has holdings in various Sotheby's companies with the combined businesses
closing over $3 billion a year in luxury real estate sales.
Victor Lundt &
Marilyn Wilson
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Judy Green
President and CEO, Premier Sotheby's International Realty
Naples, FL
Through rapid acquisitions, including acquiring 28 companies, she has grown PSIR to become
one of the largest Sotheby's International Affiliates in the world with a sales volume of $2.8 billion
in more than 3,660 closed sales,. Her previous experience includes COO of ERA and the Chief
Administrative Officer of NRT LLC.
Mike Knapp
President and CEO, HomeServices of Iowa
Des Moines, IA
With a 40+ year career in real estate, this industry veteran started his career with Iowa Realty as a
sales associate and now serves as its Chairman, President, and CEO. Over the years he has been
active in all aspects of the Realtor® legislative process, helping to shape the industry's past and
future.
Michael Pappas
Chief Executive Officer, The Keyes Company
Miami, FL
Pappas is the fourth-generation family member to run this 88 year-old, family-owned company.
He joined the company as a Sales Associate in 1980, and as its leader he now heads over 2,000
agents with annual sales in excess of $2.7 billion. He is also on the Advisory Boards of Trulia and
Realtor.com, among others.
Douglas Rebert
Managing Director, Berkshire Hathaway HS HomeSale
Lancaster, PA
Originally Prudential Homesale, in 2014 the brokerage changed to Berkshire Hathaway
HomeServices HomeSale Realty. Rebert continues to serve as Managing Director of its 28 offices
and 1,100+ agents throughout Pennsylvania and Maryland, closing over $2.5 billion in annual sales.
Walt Witek
SVP Political Affairs, National Association of REALTORS®
Washington, DC
In his role as SVP, Witek is responsible for all aspects of the Community and Political Affairs Division,
including NAR's RPAC Fundraising, the REALTOR® Action Center, Campaign Services, and Issues
Mobilization programs. He has an MA from Georgetown University and has worked on many
successful political campaigns.
Diane Ramirez
Chief Executive Officer, Halstead Property
New York, NY
In her 35+ years of experience,Ramirez helped found Halstead Property and has grown it
throughout to more than 1,000 agents New York, New Jersey, and Connecticut, and into to one of
the largest in New York behind powerhouses Corcoran and Douglas Elliman. Her success led the
Governor to appoint her to the NY Department of State Real Estate Board.
Janet Branton
SVP Commercial and Global, National Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
Branton has 27 years of association management experience and has served with NAR for 14
years. She heads their global leadership programs, including partnerships with over 80 real estate
organizations in 60+ countries. Previously, she served as VP for Business Specialties and Executive
Director for the Real Estate Buyers' Agent Council.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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James O'Bryon
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James Imhoff
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Co-owner, President/CEO, RE/MAX Gold
Fair Oaks, CA
O'Bryon heads the third largest RE/MAX franchise in the world and the #1 RE/MAX franchise in the
California market. With almost 10,000 transactions, the 750 agents in the company will generate
sales in excess of $3 billion in 2014.
Chairman/CEO, First Weber Group
Madison, WI
He serves as Chairman / CEO of the largest real estate firm in Wisconsin, with 60 offices , 1,400
agents and over $3 billion in annual sales. Since his start in 1971, he has served as President of the
Wisconsin Realtors® Association. Governor Thompson appointed him to the Real Estate Board of
the WI Department of Regulation and Licensing.
Peter F Hunt
Chairman/CEO, Hunt Real Estate ERA
Buffalo, NY
Under Hunt's leadership, the company has expanded to over 1,000 agents involved in more than
9,000 annual transactions. He was pivotal in the company's merger with HUNT Commercial and the
acquisition of Judy Columbus Real Estate. The company now comprises over 35 residential offices
in upstate New York and Arizona.
Gregg Larson
Founder and CEO, Clareity Consulting & Clareity Security
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Russ Newcomer
Partners, 1000watt Consulting
San Francisco, CA
Executive Vice President, RE/MAX Equity Group
Portland, OR
A native Oregonian, Newcomer has served the Portland-Metro area for over 30 years. He has built
the company into one of the largest RE/MAX franchises in the U.S. with annual sales of approx.
$2.5 billion. He has served as a state director for the Oregon Association of REALTORS® and the
Washington County Association of REALTORS®.
Don Walston
Founder & Executive Chairman, Coldwell Banker Howard Perry & Walston
Raleigh, NC
Walston heads over 600 agents in offices throughout the Triangle area of North Carolina, generating
over $1.8 billion in sales last year. The company strives to be the most "wired" real estate company
in NC, arming agents with cutting-edge technology. He also helped establish the HPW Foundation
in order to give back to the community.
Matthew Barba
Co-founder and CEO, Placester
Boston, MA
Through his company, Barba partners with leading publishers in order to provide agents with the
best digital ad products. The company is backed by leading investors, including Romulus Capital
and Techstars. Previously, he was an agent at Modern Real Estate in Allston, and graduated from
Boston University with a degree in Finance.
www.SP200.com
Chief Executive Officer, Ontario Association of REALTORS®
Toronto, Canada
As CEO of OREA, he represents over 53,000 real estate professionals and 41 real estate boards.
He is Past Chair of the Association Executives Council of CREA and has completed a term on the
CREA Board of Directors. Additionally, Barisa is the Chair of the Canadian Society of Association
Executives Board of Directors.
Ann Bailey
President and Owner, Pranix
San Clemente, CA
Bailey has been instrumental in resolving major challenges within the industry, including leading the
CIVIX patent lawsuit settlement, migrating RESO to its current successful leadership position, and
implementing MLS and association mergers. She wrote the Best Practices for CMLS and facilitates
and leads the COVE group.
Charlie Bengel
Chief Executive Officer, RE/MAX Allegiance
Alexandria, VA
Before taking office as CEO in 2008, Bengel held virtually every sales and operations position at RE/
MAX Allegiance. Today he heads almost 500 agents and has grown the company into almost 6,000
annual transactions, making it one of the largest RE/MAX franchise in the U.S.
Become the kind of leader that people would follow voluntarily;
even if you had no title or position.
Larson is the founder and CEO of Clareity Consulting and Clareity Security. He has 30 years of
experience in real estate information and technology, is the host of Clareity's Annual MLS Executive
Workshop, and an influential driver in the Model Content License Agreement and the Fair Display
Policy for real estate listings.
Brian Boero &
Marc Davison
Ed Barisa
Scottsdale, AZ
The senior partners at 1000Watt Consulting they are helping real estate companies re-imagine their
brand and marketing strategies. Boero is a former President of Inman News and holds a BA from
the University of Oregon, and an MA from UC Davis. Davidson is an accomplished musician and
has worked on Madison Ave with Young & Rubicam.
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©2014 RealSure, Inc.
—BRIAN TRACY
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Kevin Levent
President and CEO, BH&G Real Estate Metro Brokers
Atlanta, GA
Levent joined Metro Brokers in 1985 as a sales agent and rose to his current role as CEO in 1996,
helping to grow the company to over 3,000 agents. Before joining BH&G Metro Brokers became the
largest GMAC franchise in the country in 2001. Levent currently sits on the Advisory Board of First
Multiple Listing Service.
Bill Kessler
Chief Executive Officer, Century 21 Affiliated
Madison, WI
As founder and CEO of the company, he heads its 52 locations throughout Wisconsin, Illinois,
Minnesota, Indiana, and Michigan. He has grown the company to more than 1,000 sales
professionals and continues to provide excellent service to these communities' diverse market
needs selling more properties than any other CENTURY 21 franchise in the U.S.
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Thomas Phillips
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Chris Heller
Cbief Executive Officer, TREND MLS
Philadelphia, PA
Phillips heads an MLS database that houses over 5 million public records and facilitates the sale of
over 80,000 properties annually. Over 28,000 real estate professionals in the Greater Philadelphia
region rely on TREND MLS. He is the former CEO of the Burlington-Camden Association of Realtors,
and is a graduate of the University of Illinois.
President, Keller Williams Worldwide
San Diego, CA
Heller is a rising star within the KW family and currently serves as the global president of Keller
William Realty's Worldwide division and has been responsible for huge international growth the past
two years. Previously he owned and built KW in Southern California into one of KW's most profitable
regions in the country.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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Sandra Sanders
President, RE/MAX Estate Properties
Palos Verdes Estate, CA
Sanders heads up a large REMAX franchise consisting of 13 residential real estate offices from San
Pedro to Beverly Hills. With over 30 years of industry experience, Sanders founded her company in
1984 and in 2011 received the RISMedia National Home Ownership Award.
Kathy Condon
President and CEO, MLS Property Information Network
Shrewsbury, MA
Condon is President and CEO of one of the largest MLSs in the country, and currently serves on the
Realtor.com Executive Advisory Council, RPR Advisory Group, and Supra's Advisory Group. She
is the 2014 President-Elect of the Council of Multiple Listing Services (CMLS). The Girl Scouts of
America named her "Woman of the Year" in 2007.
Kal Raman
Chief Executive Officer, Solutionstar
Seattle, WA
As the CEO of Solutionstar, Raman has set his sights on outdoing real estate portals Zillow, Trulia,
and realtor.com. Solutionstar is a subsidiary of mortgage servicer Nationstar Mortgage Holdings,
which recently acquired Real Estate Digital, a company that provides technology services to more
than 500 multiple listing services.
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Leaders aren’t born, they are made. And they are made just like
anything else, through hard work. And that’s the price we’ll have to
pay to achieve that goal, or any goal.
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Glenn Sanford
Founder and CEO, eXp Realty
Ginger Downs
Chief Executive Officer, Chicago Association of REALTORS®
Chicago, IL
In her current role since 2005, Downs is one of the most influential Association Executives in the
country. Previously EVP of the Seattle-King County Association of REALTORS® for more than a
decade. She sits on the Real Estate Advisory Boards of DePaul University and Roosevelt University
and the Board of Regents for the newly formed REALTOR® University.
Michael Wurzer
President and CEO, FBS
Fargo, ND
Wurzer serves as CEO of FBS and is the creator of the Flexmls system used by over 140+ multiple
listing services. He is actively involved with real estate transaction standards and is also a past
chair for Real Estate Standards Organization (RESO). Previously he was an attorney practicing
corporate law in Los Angeles.
Thomas Anderson
President, Washington Fine Properties
Washington, DC
Anderson has over 30 years of industry experience, with 23 of those years in NY City helping to
build Sotheby's from its founding stages. He co-founded Washington Fine Properties in 1999. In
2011 and 2012 Washington Fine Properties was awarded the "Highest Sales Volume Per Agent" and
the "Highest Average Sales Price Per Transaction" by REALTrends.
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Bellingham, WA
As founder and CEO of eXp Realty, Sanford leads the first national cloud-based brokerage company
in the real estate industry. The company has no offices with the exception of the states where it is
legally required. With 500 agents in 31 states, eXp Realty is still relatively small but growing rapidly.
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
President and CEO, Rapattoni
Simi Valley, CA
Rapattoni pioneered computerized business applications that now serve more than 100 MLSs with
approximately 200,000 users nationally. With over 40 years of industry experience he has earned a
reputation as an industry leader in MLS systems, software, and online authentication services.
Peter Niederman
Greenwood
Village, CO
Chief Executive Officer, Kentwood Real Estate
As CEO of Kentwood Real Estate, Niederman heads this Colorado-based innovator in marketing
strategies and internet technology. Prior to purchasing Kentwood with Bill Moore in 2007, he served
as VP of Sales for Richmond American Homes, and Regional VP of Coldwell Banker Residential
Brokerage.
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—VINCE LOMBARDI
Andy Rapattoni
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Constance Freedman
Managing Director, Second Century Ventures Fund
Chicago, IL
Freedman manages the strategic investment arm of NAR and is the founder and Managing Director
of REach, it's technology accelerator program. She sits on all of SCV's portfolio companies' boards,
including DocuSign, Updater, and Xceligent. She earned a BS from Boston University and an MBA
from Harvard Business School.
Pat Shea
President, Lyon Real Estate
Sacramento, CA
With 20+ years of real estate sales and leadership experience Shea now heads up Lyon Real Estate
and has helped grow the company significantly in the Greater Sacramento Area, to almost 1,000
agents conducting over $2.5 billion in annual sales. He holds a BSBA from John Carroll University
in Cleveland, Ohio.
Glenn Shimkus
Vice President, DocuSign
Naperville, IL
Shimkus is the VP of Product Management at DocuSign and is responsible for the management,
development, and marketing of the company's eSignature in the real estate industry. He is the
founder of Cartavi, which Docusign acquired in 2013, and he now also oversees as the re-branded
Transaction Room.
Brian Larson
President, Larson/Skinner
Minneapolis, MN
As an attorney, Larson has represented many organizations in many important lawsuits. As
business consultant, he focuses on collaboration between MLS's, including data sharing, formation
of new regional MLS's, and the MLS Domains Association. The company has a new partner,
Mitchell Skinner, that we expect will be playing a larger role in the future.
Gerald Howard
Chief Executive Officer, National Association of Home Builders
Washington, DC
With more than 25 years of lobbying and association experience in Washington, D.C., Howard is
NAHB's Chief Executive Officer. He started as tax counsel in 1988 and has served in a variety of
roles, including Chief Lobbyist as well as SVP of NAHB's Government Affairs Division. He previously
practiced real estate law in South Carolina.
Kipp Cooper
Chief Executive Officer, Huntsville Area Association of REALTORS®
Huntsville, AL
Cooper is also CEO of North Alabama MLS. He has played a key role in reshaping the way MLSs look
at syndication by developing a model that provides a win-win for the listing agent, the MLS, and the
national portals. He joined HAAR/NALMLS in 2012 and is a rising young leader in the industry.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
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James Dwiggins
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Michael Fischer
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Mike Ferry
Madison, NJ
Chief Executive Officer, Real Estate Digital
Aliso Viejo, CA
Formerly the President of LPS Real Estate Group, Gaskill has headed Real Estate Digital since 2011.
He has 25+ years of experience in all aspects of real estate, including his current responsibilities
of providing integrated technology and services to the industry. He holds a bachelor's degree in
Business Information Systems.
Founder and President, The Mike Ferry Organization
Las Vegas, NV
Mike Ferry is the founder of The Mike Ferry Organization, and has built it into a multi-million dollar
company with tens of thousands of clients. After a distinguished career spanning 40 years he is still
one of the leading real estate coaches in the country. He started his career with Nightingale-Conant
as their National Training Director.
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Thomas J Embrescia
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Marty Frame
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Chief Operating Officer, Coldwell Banker Real Estate
Fischer was promoted to COO in 2013 and is involved with all decisions in the CB franchise network
of 3,300 offices in 50 countries. He guides the expansion of the Coldwell Banker online platform
and retains oversight of the brand's global marketing efforts. Fischer previously worked as director
of marketing communications at Nissan North America.
Jay Gaskill
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San Francisco, CA
After 8 years providing over 200 Realty World Northern California and Nevada franchise offices
new technologies, Dwiggins jumped out in 2014 to start NextHome, a new franchise dedicated to
serving the brokers with 20 or fewer agents in their brokerage. He is former COO of Red Tablet and
founder of the California Chapter of YPN.
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Chief Executive Officer, NextHome
Chairman and CEO, Second Generation
Cleveland, OH
Embrescia entered into the DNS/TLD licensing space and acquired the .JOBS license working with
SHRM. In 2014 he acquired .MED with the Cleveland Clinic and .REALTOR in association with NAR.
In the last two months of 2014 over 90,000 agents signed up for their name .REALTOR domain
making it one of the fastest growing top level domains.
President, REALTORS® Property Resource
Publisher and CEO, Housing Wire
Plano, TX
Jackson is publisher and CEO at HousingWire, one of the most influential industry news sources
covering the U.S. housing economy, including residential mortgage lending, servicing, investments,
and real estate operations. He has published more than 3,500 articles and was one of the first to
cover the mortgage crisis in 2006.
Denee Evans
CEO, Council Multiple Listing Services
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Cary Sylvester
VP Digital Innovation, Keller Williams Realty International
Austin, TX
Sylvester is probably the most powerful and influential IT person working for a national franchiser.
As VP of Digital Innovation and Communications for KW, Sylvester leads the technology team's
strategic planning, external relations and worldwide initiatives and is also extensively involved in
activities such as Project Upstream.
Benn & Lani Rosales
Founders and Editors, The American Genius / Realuoso
Austin, TX
A husband and wife power duo that co-founded the online news service, The American Genius.
Since 2007 they have grown it to more than 100 columnists. Their latest initiative, Realuoso, is the
most exciting news service to be started in the residential real estate brokerage industry in more
than a decade.
Matthew Ferrara
President, The Learning Network
Henderson, NV
Ferrara is a philosopher, photographer, writer, and speaker helping sales organizations around the
world. He travels more than 200,000 miles a year speaking at hundreds of events. His blog contains
more than 400 of his best practices and stories from top management, salespeople, and customer
experiences.
Greg Robertson
Co-founder, W&R Studios
Huntington Beach, CA
Over 120,000 real estate agents use Robertson's flagship product, Cloud CMA. He is also the
publisher of the popular real estate blog, Vendor Alley, and an Advisor to the Board of Directors of
the Council of MLS. In 1992 he and his business partner Dan Woolley started their first real estate
company, IRIS, which they sold to HomeSeeker.
Morgan Carey
Founder and CEO, Webmasters
Nanaimo, Canada
Carey heads up Real Estate Webmasters, a company that builds web products and creates online
and conventional marketing campaigns for real estate agents. Noteworthy is his 2014 appearance
on "Dragons' Den" (Canada's equivalent of Shark Tank), where he had the largest ask in the history
of the show, securing $2 million in funding.
Los Angeles, CA
Frame is the president of RPR, in which capacity he is responsible for the company's product
strategies and business operations. Prior to RPR, he was the general manager of Cyberhomes.com
for Fidelity National Financial and Lender Processing Services, and the Chief Technology Officer of
Realtor.com for Move, Inc.
Paul Jackson
196
Las Vegas , NV
Available Online.
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See Rankings by Category.
Power200
SWAN EP OEL
SP200.com
Evans is the first and newly appointed CEO of the Council Multiple Listing Services (CMLS), the
premier forum and resource for MLS providers. In her position, CMLS is expected to play a
significant role in the various initiatives and discussion currently underway in this space. She
previously served as the Executive Director of EnergyFit Nevada.
www.SP200.com
©2014 RealSure, Inc.
© 2014 RealSure, Inc.
www.SP200.com
53
Swanepoel
The Leadership Think-Tank
The most powerful CEO roundtable in real estate.
Swanepoel T3 Group
Trends | Technology | Thought
T3Summit.com
Swanepoel T3 Group
Trends | Technology | Thought
Swanepoel
The 2015 T3 Summit assembles 285 CEOs and Thought Leaders sharing their
insights, experiences and visions. “There has never been a Forum as strong and
focused on strategic matters under discussion by people who actually can affect the
direction and choices that move the industry as the T3 Summit”, says John Mosey,
CEO NorthStar MLS.
No Trade Exhibitors | No Pay-To Play | No Media
April 8-10 2015
T3Summit.com