Keller Williams on Wednesday morning announced the creation of a new parent holding company, KWx. As part of the announcement, Keller Williams CEO and co-founder Gary Keller will vacate the CEO position as part of a leadership shuffle that will reposition Keller as executive chairman of the new company and former AutoNation President Carl Liebert as the CEO of KWx.
READ NEXT: Gary Keller steps back from CEO role in massive leadership shuffle at KW
READ NEXT: Who is Carl Liebert, the new CEO of Keller Williams company KWx?
Keller first announced the reshuffling in a letter to leaders of the international franchisor, a copy of which was obtained by Inman. Read Keller’s full letter below:
Dear Keller Williams leaders –
This afternoon, we will make an announcement that will certainly create waves in our industry. It’s one I have been working toward for many months and am confident will mark the next chapter in the history of Keller Williams.
I am excited to announce that I have officially stepped into a new role as Executive Chairman at KWx, a holding company that will represent the collection of all Keller Williams affiliates and subsidiaries – including Keller Williams Realty, KW Worldwide, Keller Mortgage, Keller Covered, Keller Offers, and others – to create alignment, scale and efficiencies across the Keller Williams ecosystem.
Effective immediately, I am stepping down from my role as CEO of Keller Williams Realty. This move will allow me the opportunity to get back to my passion – placing my focus on the vision for our industry, consulting our amazing agents and leaders, and building the models and systems for tomorrow’s real estate environment. As President, Josh Team assumes all duties and responsibilities I previously held as CEO. Keller Williams Realty will no longer have a CEO; however, I am now Executive Chairman of the Board.
As President, and in partnership with each of you, Josh has successfully led Keller Williams Realty to achieve record-level success across all major KPIs of our business. From the time I took over the CEO position, my goal was to move into the role of Executive Chairman. Josh has made that move possible more quickly and confidently than I could have imagined.
As Josh shared with me, “As the only large national franchise that has continued to grow and take market share this year, we are perfectly positioned to continue setting records and achieving unparalleled growth.”
Our commitment to innovate on behalf of the real estate agent and their clients has never been stronger. And together, we have moved quickly to deliver unique value — from creation of an innovative zero-fee loan program through Keller Mortgage, to our Keller Covered home insurance platform, and more. The formation of KWx is central to the next phase, focused on scaling that vision and empowering our agents to deliver the highest level of value to their clients.
To help us achieve this mission, Carl Liebert has been named the CEO of KWx.
Carl brings more than 30 years of experience leading customer-driven transformations and developing strategic, operational and process excellence within retail (AutoNation, 24 Hour Fitness, The Home Depot, Circuit City), financial services (USAA), and industrial (General Electric) organizations.
We are excited to welcome Carl to the team and are confident that he will help scale our ability to deliver innovation and value creation for your market centers, your agents, and their clients.
Thank you all for your continued commitment to your associates and for relentlessly driving our company to heights that many would have thought unreachable. This move is just the next step in our journey together, and one we are excited to embark upon with each of you!
Onward …
Gary
