Shane Johnson, the CEO of the San Antonio Board of Realtors, has been fired after less than three months on the job.
SABOR’s board of directors voted to terminate Johnson’s contract on Wednesday due to disagreements about the association’s future and mission, according to a press release.
Shane Johnson
“Over the past two months, it became evident to SABOR board and staff that Mr. Johnson and the organization had different visions about SABOR’s future and its mission. The board and its officers determined that a swift decision was necessary to ensure the least amount of disruption to our members and the ongoing mission of SABOR,” the release said.
Lorena Peña, chair of the SABOR board, declined to comment on why Johnson was fired, citing personnel issues.
“With any position, it takes time to determine if any new hire aligns with the organization. The board of directors determined Mr. Johnson was not well matched to lead the organization and its 11,000 Realtor members,” Peña said via email.
Johnson became SABOR’s CEO on June 18 after the association conducted a six-month nationwide search to fill the position. Johnson was one of two finalist candidates. SABOR’s board of directors voted Wednesday to enter into negotiations with the other finalist. The association will announce the new CEO once negotiations are complete, Peña said.
“We will soon welcome a new CEO who can best carry out SABOR’s mission to educate and advocate to the public on real estate issues,” she said.
The termination had nothing to do with merger talks between SABOR and the Austin Board of Realtors announced last year, according to Peña. She declined to comment on the status of those talks.
SABOR has had its share of drama in the past year and a half. In April 2017, the association held an emergency meeting where members voted on petitions to remove the chair and chair-elect of the board at the time. Members ended up voting to remove the chair, but not the chair-elect.
Peña said Johnson’s firing didn’t have anything to do with the petitions or the member vote. “That particular matter was resolved prior to Mr. Johnson joining SABOR,” she said.
This is not the first time Johnson has been sacked. On Feb. 13, 2013, three months into a four-year contract as CEO of the Oklahoma City Metropolitan Association of Realtors, OKCMAR fired Johnson, and he subsequently sued the association, alleging breach of his employment contract and seeking $645,000 in damages. The matter appears to have been settled in arbitration.
Johnson has worked for several Realtor associations. Before joining SABOR, Johnson was COO for Cape Fear Realtors in North Carolina for five years.
Before his short stint at OKCMAR, he was the CEO of the Quad City Area Realtor Association in Bettendorf, Iowa, for two years and between 2001 and 2004, he was CEO of the St. Charles County Association of Realtors near St. Louis, according to his LinkedIn page.
Inman was unable to reach Johnson for comment in time for this article’s publication.
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