Inman

Real estate franchiser announces growth expectations

Keller Williams Realty Inc., one of the top real estate franchisers in North America, today announced a restructuring in its executive team, and plans to grow its agent pool about 46 percent in 2006.

The company had a net gain of about 1,700 new sales associates each month this year, according to the announcement, and has plans to expand from about 56,000 associates to 82,000 next year.

Mark Willis, Keller Williams president, added the role of CEO on Dec. 1, and former CEO Mo Anderson now serves as the company’s vice chairman. The company also announced that four tenured administrators have joined the international staff: Mary Tennant as chief operations officer; Charles Cannon, executive vice president; David Osborn, CORE Services president; and Dianna Kokoszka, vice president of “Mega Achievement Productivity Systems.”

Keller Williams’ CORE services division seeks to provide a “one-stop shopping” experience for real estate consumers – from mortgage lenders to insurance providers.

“This is a new day at Keller Williams Realty International,” company chairman Gary Keller said in a statement. “These individuals know the business … and they understand what Keller Williams Realty is all about.”

Keller Williams officials announced that the company is the fastest-growing real estate franchise in North America, citing data released by the National Association of Realtors’ Realtor Magazine. When Willis joined the company as president in 2002, the company had 18,888 associates in 216 market centers. Today, the company has more than 56,091 associates in 514 market centers. “As president and CEO, I will continue to drive the growth of this company,” Willis stated.

The company reported $1.96 billion in gross commission income earned year to date among its market centers in the United States and Canada, and the company announced that it expected that number to grow to $2.2 billion earned by the end of the month.

Moving from CEO to vice chairman, Anderson is responsible for ensuring that the company’s culture and core values strengthen as Keller Williams Realty continues to grow, the company announced.

Tennant, who entered the real estate business in 1992, has previously served as the regional operating principal of Keller Williams Realty’s Southern California Region and as the regional representative of the South Texas Region. She also served as team leader for the Austin Southwest market center in Texas. The Austin Southwest market center reported 5,161 closed units year to date in 2005, Keller Williams announced.

In addition to her duties as the chief operations officer for Keller Williams Realty International, Tennant will continue to serve as the operating principal of the Austin Lake Travis market center, the Austin Southwest market center and the Austin Northwest market center, the company reported.

Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty Inc. has about 500 offices in the United States and Canada. The company began franchising in 1990.

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