One of the nation’s largest real estate software technology companies is undergoing a major leadership change. Lone Wolf on Friday announced it has named Jack Blaha as CEO, as outgoing chief executive Patrick Arkeveld transitions to the role of executive chairman.
Lorne Wallace, who founded the company as Lone Wolf Software in 1998 and is the company’s current executive chairman will remain an active member of the board of directors.
Jack Blaha. (Credit: PeopleAdmin)
Blaha is technically an outside hire, coming from PeopleAdmin, an education talent management software company, where he also served as CEO. PeopleAdmin and Lone Wolf, however, are both backed by the venture capital firm Vista Equity Partners.
“Lone Wolf has a fantastic reputation in the residential real estate software industry and [Arkeveld] has built a great foundation, company culture, and product portfolio,” Blaha said in a prepared statement. “I look forward to learning more about the real estate industry and how we can continue to meet the needs of real estate professionals with innovative technology and a fantastic user experience.”
With Arkeveld at the helm since 2015, Lone Wolf has grown to provide back office, front office, web and transaction management software for more than 20,000 offices and 500,000 agents. Arkeveld led the acquisition of Instanet Solutions, which significantly expanded the company’s offerings. Lone Wolf has partnerships to offer their services to a number of the industry’s biggest players, including NRT and RE/MAX.
Patrick Arkeveld. (Credit: Lone Wolf)
“It’s been my honor to lead Lone Wolf and I am incredibly proud of our accomplishments,” Arkeveld said in a statement. “I am thrilled to welcome Blaha to the team.
“[Blaha] brings the skill set and experience to drive Lone Wolf forward on this tremendous upward trajectory, and I am confident he will serve our clients well in the years ahead,” Arkeveld added. “I look forward to supporting [Blaha] and Lone Wolf, as we continue to grow the company and our influence in the real estate industry.”
The announcement comes during a week of upheaval and management change throughout the industry. On Tuesday, Keller Williams confirmed that its founder, Gary Keller, would be resuming his role as chief executive for the first time in more than two decades and that it was moving on from John Davis, who had served in the position since early 2017.
On Monday, Century 21 CEO Nick Bailey stepped down and the company promoted Mike Miedler.