Real estate franchisor Re/Max LLC has seen three veteran managers depart the company this year: Marnie Blanco, vice president of eBusiness; Kristi Graning, senior vice president of strategic and emerging technologies; and Staci Wood, director of product and account management.
Blanco left Re/Max this month after more than nine years on the job, for a position with an undisclosed company. She headed Re/Max’s eBusiness department, which is responsible for all agent- and broker-facing technology systems and services including remax.com, RE/MAXLeadStreet, RE/MAX Mainstreet and RE/MAX Design Center.
 Marnie Blanco |
"Marnie played a pivotal part in the history of online real estate," wrote Greg Robertson in a post on his blog Vendor Alley noting her departure.
Blanco and Graning were instrumental in Re/Max’s 2006 rollout of a national network of broker IDX websites, allowing consumers visiting remax.com to search all of the Internet Data Exchange listings in markets where Re/Max has participating brokers.
Previously, websites operated by franchisors typically displayed only those listings represented by their affiliated brokerages.
That’s because multiple listing services restrict the display of IDX listings to member brokers and agents — franchisors aren’t eligible to become MLS members.
The National Association of Realtors briefly allowed franchisors to display IDX listings in markets where they had affiliated brokerages, but last year rescinded the rule change that had allowed the practice after some brokers and brokerage networks objected.
A "search handler" solution employed by eNeighborhoods (now Homes.com) to power Re/Max’s national website allows consumers to enter search criteria at remax.com and view matching IDX listings provided by the Re/Max brokerage that belongs to an MLS in the market where they are searching. Homes.com also powers ERA Real Estate’s search portal, ERA.com, which serves up search results from affiliated brokers’ IDX websites.
 Kristi Graning |
Graning, a 21-year Re/Max vet, left the firm in March.
"Having the time of my life defining a new identity outside of Corporate America," reads the description of Graning’s current position on her LinkedIn profile.
After 12 years at Re/Max, Staci Wood, a senior manager at the company when she left in August, is now director of product and account management at the regional MLS serving the Denver market, Metrolist Inc.
 Staci Wood |
Re/Max says the three departures each occurred under a separate set of circumstances and that the positions have not yet been refilled.
A spokesman for the company said each of the former staff members’ teams were heavily focused on a yearlong effort to release Re/Max’s mobile- and tablet-friendly website, which debuted on Dec. 3.
"Our plan is to analyze our staffing needs and make decisions about new hires after the first of the year," said Re/Max spokesman Shaun White.
