News from movers & shakers around the real estate industry concerning executive appointments, franchise initiatives and more.
Movers & Shakers: MooveGuru announces executive appointments
MooveGuru, a moving concierge service, made the movers & shakers list when it recently announced the appointment of industry veterans Kathleen Austin Kuhn and Frank Chimento to the executive leadership team.
Kuhn joins MooveGuru from her previous position as the Brand President of HouseMaster Home Inspection. HouseMaster sold to Neighborly Brands in 2020. Kuhn brings 35 years of experience in the home inspection category of real estate and will be leading up MooveGuru’s strategy for home inspection.
Chimento has been appointed as the Executive Vice President of Sales and Business Development. Chimento most recently held a similar role at Elm Street Technology (Elevate) and has served in various executive roles in the real estate industry throughout his 20+ year career. Chimento’s relationship with MooveGuru CEO Scott Oakley began when the two worked together at Connecting Neighbors, AllConnect and Lone Wolf.
Movers & Shakers: ERA Real Estate affiliates with Cohn & Company Real Estate
ERA Real Estate, a global franchise within the Realogy family of brands, announced its affiliation with Cohn & Company Real Estate ERA Powered. The legacy firm, founded in 1948, is headquartered in Greenfield, Mass., and serves Franklin and Hampshire counties in Western Massachusetts.
The firm is owned and led by President Timothy Grader. Second-generation owner Robert Cohn tapped Timothy in 2019 to lead the brokerage into the future. Robert is transitioning to retirement after more than 40 years at the company’s helm. The firm has consistently performed at the top of the Franklin County market. Last year the brokerage was responsible for nearly $37 million in sales volume, a 2.75% increase over the previous year.
Grader has recognized many growth opportunities through the ERA affiliation, from gaining access to more sophisticated marketing resources and modernizing and standardizing operational platforms to leveraging a national and international referral network.
Movers & Shakers: LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance added two members to board of directors
Feroza Syed and Kenya Burrell-VanWormer have been appointed to the LGBTQ+ Real Estate Alliance’s Board of Directors, according to a news release.
Syed, an Association Broker with Atlanta Fine Homes Sotheby’s International Realty, is a trans activist and advocate who was appointed by Mayor Keisha Lance Bottoms to the first LGBTQ Advisory Board for the City of Atlanta. The 2019 Grand Marshall for Atlanta’s 50th Pride celebration, Syed is active in numerous city organizations including PFLAG, the Trans Housing Coalition (THC) and DesiQ Diaspora, which works to create a safe haven for LGBTQ+ Asian and Pacific Islander youth.
Burnell-VanWormer recently joined T3Sixty, a noted real estate brokerage consultancy, where she serves as Senior Vice President of Diversity Solutions and Executive Director of the Real Estate Apprentice Foundation. She has 20 years of real estate experience and was the 2018 chair of the Houston Association of Realtors. She was also the organization’s Realtor of the Year in 2009 and was honored by Inman News as its 2018 Person of the Year.
Movers & Shakers: Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty promotes Yun to Senior Director, Digital Strategy
Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty promoted S.J. Yun to Senior Director of Digital Strategy. Hired two years ago as Digital Marketing Manager, Yun has forwarded the company’s digital marketing campaigns, brand development strategy and overall vision and content, and has produced engaging interactive experiences across multiple marketing channels, according to a company press release.
Yun has been recognized with awards in digital marketing categories across multiple industries. He has won awards in finance marketing two years in a row; one in several areas including a “best category” for digital advertising, and another for a non-commercial video he produced.
Daniel Gale Sotheby’s International Realty is a $4 billion-dollar organization based on Long Island, N.Y. with more than 850 real estate advisors serving New York City’s metropolitan area with 25 sales offices in Queens, Nassau, and Suffolk counties, the North Fork of Long Island and Westhampton Beach.
Movers & Shakers: eXp will open three new locations in Q2 2021
eXp Realty in March announced plans to expand its real estate operations into Colombia, Spain and Israel in the second quarter of 2021. The openings come after successful launches in Puerto Rico and Brazil in the first months of 2021, with Italy and Hong Kong slated to open later in March. In 2020, eXp launched operations in South Africa, India, Mexico, France and Portugal. By the end of the second quarter, eXp Realty will have a presence in 16 countries, including its headquarters in the United States.
Throughout the past year, eXp continued to gain global market share by growing its agent base by more than 60%. Today, the eXp Realty platform has more than 48,000 agents across its international locations. As part of the expansion into the new markets, the company will hire experienced leaders in each country to head up local teams who will be responsible for agent operations and services.
Movers & Shakers: BoomTown acquires Brokermint
BoomTown, a cloud-based sales and marketing automation platform for real estate professionals, in March announced the acquisition of Brokermint, according to a news release. Brokermint’s technology consolidates and automates all back office and transaction management functions. BoomTown’s purchase means it offers “one of the industry’s only integrated, end-to-end solutions addressing every aspect of the real estate transaction lifecycle.”
Brokermint’s back office management and automation solutions are essential to the operations and growth of top real estate brokerages and teams. Its core capabilities support clients with transaction management, commission automation, accounting, agent management, reporting and analytics.