Keller Williams is restructuring its business, creating a new holding company—KWx—under which all existing affiliates and subsidiaries of the company will live, including Keller Williams Realty, Keller Williams Worldwide, Keller Mortgage, Keller Covered and Keller Offers.
Gary Keller announced he has stepped into a new role as executive chairman at KWx, an umbrella which will reportedly create alignment, scale and efficiencies across the Keller Williams ecosystem.
“As Keller Williams has continued to innovate on behalf of the real estate agent and their clients, we moved quickly to deliver unique value through these individual companies—from creation of an innovative zero-fee loan program to a home insurance platform,” said Keller in a statement. “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.”
Carl Liebert was named CEO of KWx.
According to the company, Liebert 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.
“Carl’s proven track record of enterprise-level leadership, building collaborative teams and delivering operational scale to each of these organizations is in perfect alignment with the charter of KWx,” said Keller. “We are excited to welcome Carl to the team and are confident that he will fuel the next phase of accelerated innovation and value creation for Keller Williams agents and their clients.”
“The opportunity to work within a culture-first organization like Keller Williams is a natural fit with my personal and professional values,” said Liebert in a statement. “Our shared passion and commitment to delivering world-class customer experiences at scale made the opportunity to learn and lead alongside Gary Keller a compelling opportunity. Keller Williams has the market share, the vision and leadership, and the unwavering commitment to keep the agent at the center of the holistic real estate experience. I look forward to joining the team on this journey.”
Gary Keller has stepped down from his role as CEO, effectively immediately. In January 2019, he had re-assumed the role of CEO, taking the position from John Davis, who had been in the role for just two years.
As president, Josh Team assumes all duties and responsibilities previously held by Keller. While Keller Williams Realty will no longer have a CEO, the company says Keller will become executive chairman of the board.
“As president, Josh has successfully led Keller Williams Realty to achieve record-level success across all major metrics of our business,” said Keller. “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.”
Bill Soteroff will remain president of Keller Williams Worldwide, the international division of Keller Williams.
Interesting that there are no women in upper executive positions. All Male fraternity.
This is not new for KW. Nor does it portend a problem at the in the KW ecosystem. Our history has seen us thrive under his leadership. Just as we have thrived when he has passed the mantle of authority to others.
As a 12 year associate and Team-leader for the company, I have seen this cycle before. And for that reason I am confident that this change was made at the right time, for the right reasons. And that our future is secure.