Big Leadership Changes at Realogy

New Realogy CEO and former credit card exec Ryan Schneider isn’t wasting time in putting his stamp on the real estate giant. The company announced a host of changes in key positions across several of its notable brands this morning. Namely…

Ryan Gorman

Ryan Gorman was named President and Chief Executive Officer of NRT LLC, and will be responsible for the day-to-day operations of NRT’s company-owned brokerages doing business under the Coldwell Banker brand. Gorman has served as Chief Strategy & Operating Officer of NRT for the past 16 months and as its Senior Vice President, Strategic Operations for the previous four years.

Bruce Zipf

Bruce Zipf, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of NRT, has transitioned to the role of Executive Advisor to Realogy’s CEO.

John Peyton

John Peyton, President and Chief Executive Officer of Realogy Franchise Group, the Company’s real estate franchise services segment, will expand his responsibilities to include oversight of two NRT businesses: the Corcoran businesses and the company-owned Sotheby’s International Realty brokerages.

Stephen Fraser

Realogy expects to announce the appointment of an Executive Vice President, Chief Technology Officer in the next week, replacing Stephen Fraser, who previously served as Senior Vice President and Chief Information Officer. Realogy has launched a search for a new President and Chief Executive Officer of Cartus Corporation, the Company’s relocation and affinity services segment.

Kevin Kelleher

Kevin Kelleher, the former President and Chief Executive Officer of Cartus, has transitioned to the role of Executive Advisor to Realogy’s CEO.

Scott Becker

Scott Becker, who currently leads Cartus’ affinity business, will serve as the interim leader for Cartus.

In a statement, Schneider said the moves are “designed to accelerate our transformation and position our company for stronger business performance,” all while increasing shareholder value.

Realogy, which tallied $5.81 billion in annual revenue in 2016 and boasts a market cap of $3.56 billion, employs approximately 12,000 people.

The operational changes come after Realogy’s growth slowed in recent years, and following the hurricanes last year, which adversely affected company operations in Houston, Texas, and Florida — albeit temporarily.

Ryan M. Schneider

In a third-quarter earnings call in November, outgoing Realogy CEO Richard Smith reported revenue growth of 2 percent, but acknowledged low inventory and the hurricanes, which he said whittled away at transaction volume, which was nonetheless up 4 percent for the quarter.

“Combined volume growth at NRT and [Realogy Franchise Group] came in at the low end of guidance, and NRT volume growth was 1 percentage point below the low end of our guidance,” Smith said during the Nov. 3 earnings call. “The lower volume is attributed to the effects of the hurricanes, particularly as it relates to our large NRT operations in Houston and Florida and the persistently low inventory which is limiting growth in transaction volume.”

The executive moves come on the heel of several high-profile hires last year, including the appointment of former Zillow Broker Relations Vice President Nick Bailey as CEO of Century 21 and Roger Favano, a former executive at General Electric, as NRT’s chief financial officer. Meanwhile, Mark Sanders, a longtime B2B sales executives, was tapped as Cartus’ senior vice president of Global Sales and Marketing.

Schneider himself will have a chance to explain more about his decision-making and where he sees Realogy headed next at Inman Connect NY later this month, where he will be giving his first public talk as Realogy CEO.

Realogy operates a number of business units and brands, many of which are well-known in real estate and beyond. These include: