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RE/MAX Chief Operating Officer Serene Smith, who served in the position for seven years, has resigned from her role following the latest shakeup of the franchisor’s executive team, according to a new filing Monday with federal regulators.
Smith, who has been with the franchisor in executive roles since 2010, will earn a severance that includes continuation of her salary, a year of health benefits, accelerated vesting of shares in the public company and her retention bonus if she remains in her role as part-time project manager through Nov. 13. A replacement was not immediately named.
The filing showed that Smith was earning $391,230 annually in her joint role as chief of staff and chief operating officer. Her new salary as project manager will be $130,000 annually, the filing shows.
The filing noted that RE/MAX had signed an agreement with Smith outlining “separation benefits Ms. Smith may be entitled to upon her departure from the company.” The agreement letter was signed by Erik Carlson, who was hired as CEO of RE/MAX Holdings in November.
“By agreeing to this letter, you resign as an officer of the Company and all of its affiliated entities as of the Effective Date,” Carlson wrote in the agreement letter. “Thank you for your years of service to RE/MAX and I look forward to continuing to work with you in your new role.”
In the same filing, RE/MAX announced that it had hired Robert Fuchs as executive vice president of human resources and administration.
The changes follow the company’s financial struggles during the ongoing real estate slowdown that has plagued the industry.
On the same day it announced its sixth-straight quarter of falling revenue in February, RE/MAX unveiled President and CEO Nick Bailey would exit his position. He was replaced as president by Amy Lessinger, who reports to Carlson.
That change came on the same day RE/MAX announced its revenue fell 5.2 percent in the fourth quarter of 2023, compared to the same time a year before. RE/MAX earned $76.6 million in the quarter and reported a net loss of $69 million for the year.
In May, the company announced that its revenue fell yet again.
