Robert Moles has returned to his roots in northern California real estate.
The former president and CEO of Cendant Corp.’s Real Estate Franchise Group has joined Intero Real Estate Services as chairman, director and shareholder.
Moles’ affiliation with the upstart Silicon Valley brokerage may be no surprise to industry watchers since his brother is an office manager at the brokerage CEO Gino Blefari, a former NRT executive and childhood friend of the Moles brothers, opened in October 2002.
“I’m thrilled to now be a part of the Intero team,” Moles said in a statement today.
Intero has 15 offices and 825 agents. The independently owned and locally operated company has offices in Antioch, Blackhawk, Cupertino, Danville, Gilroy, Hollister, Los Altos, Los Gatos, Morgan Hill, Orinda, Pleasanton, San Carlos, San Jose, Saratoga and Walnut Creek.
“As a lifelong student of real estate, I’m impressed by Intero’s unprecedented growth and I look forward to helping guide Intero to even greater accomplishments,” Moles said.
At Cendant, Moles was responsible for the Century 21, Coldwell Banker, Coldwell Banker Commercial, ERA and Sotheby’s International Realty brands, which comprised 13,000 franchised offices and 262,800 agents worldwide. His departure from the New Jersey-based corporation and anticipated return to northern California were announced last month.
Moles previously had been CEO of Santa Clara, Calif.-based Contempo Realty. He joined HFS, the predecessor of Cendant, as CEO of Century 21 Real Estate Corp. in 1997.
Moles is a graduate of the local Santa Clara University. He began his real estate career in the Bay Area after college. His return to the area has “brought him full circle,” today’s statement said.
“I’ve known Bob since the fourth grade when we were on the same Little League team. We went through elementary school, junior high and high school together,” said Blefari. “Bob truly epitomizes the “local boy makes good” metaphor. With a person of Bob’s caliber on board, Intero’s possibilities are endless.”
