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Two weeks after Keller Williams’ annual family reunion meeting, Mark King has resigned as president of the Texas brokerage, effective immediately.
Inman learned of the news Monday afternoon in an internal email sent to the company’s more than 180,000 agents. King said in the email that now is the time to focus on his family and personal life, which has suffered as he helped guide Keller Williams through a particularly tough real estate market.
Mark King
“KW is not about what you get, it’s about what you get out of it. “It’s about who you become,” he said. “Over the past 23 years, this company and its relationships have helped me become a better person, a better leader, and most importantly, a better husband, stepfather, brother and son. “
“I’m grateful for every opportunity I’ve had here, and I can say that I gave 100 percent of my effort and dedication to every role,” he added. “Now is the time for me to truly put God and family first and focus on business. Pandemics, social unrest, wars, fires, lawsuits, shrinking markets, needing more time for business, now is my time to make up for it ”
King took over the helm in 2021 after more than two decades as a division leader and head of operations in multiple market centers. He said he will continue to serve the company in an advisory capacity and focus on courses through Coursera and Kaplan.
“Today is a bittersweet day for me at KWRI, as I choose to transition into a different role,” he said. “I’m excited about the future. I’m not going anywhere. I’m going to do what I’m most passionate about and love.”
“This is pouring into our community of team leaders and reimagining FSO as a best-in-class educational platform that drives growth,” he added. “I will be forever grateful for the five years I served in this role as well as the Director of Growth and department leadership Role.”
Returning KW mogul Mark Willis will take over King’s responsibilities and assume the dual role of president and CEO. “We respect, admire and appreciate Marc’s work as president of KWRI,” he said.
Prior to becoming president, King served as an operating partner at Keller Williams Market Centers in Nebraska and Missouri for more than 20 years and as a MAPS business coach for 15 years. In January 2020, King became director of growth during a period of rapid change, leading to the formation of a new holding company, KWx, and intensifying rumors of an IPO.
A year later, following the sudden (and controversial) departure of former President Josh Timm, King took over. Under King’s leadership, Keller Williams has returned to its education and training roots, made headlines with its partnerships with Kaplan and Coursera, and successfully launched the Keller Williams Community, which focuses on connecting agents with similar backgrounds and interests.
After a stellar 2021, King guided Keller Williams through a period of sharp declines in home sales and slow agent growth as rising mortgage rates stymied buyers and sellers. interest. Still, King remained focused on education and training. said it would help Keller Williams maintain momentum until sales rebound.
“Especially over the[past]five years, but really the last decade, the industry has been frothy. It has taken the focus away from being the trustee at the center of the exchange — helping consumers have a better experience and doing Make smarter decisions,” he said in a 2023 interview with Inman. “A variety of different models were tested, but really, at the end of the day, I came back to a quote from the last class I taught at Keller Williams Market Center: ‘Someone has to sell a damn building. House of.'”
“That’s what we do better than anyone else. It’s the core of our training,” he added. “The most important thing for us and our agents right now is how we can help consumers buy and sell real estate.”
Willis said the company continues to rely on King’s passion for education and training to propel the company through the ongoing difficult times.
Because Keller Williams is a private company, it is not required to report earnings every quarter. However, at the company’s latest conference, Willis said agent growth has been mediocre over the past year and called on company leaders to usher in a new era of signature recruiting and retention as Keller Williams aims to recruit from any Local take the franchise crown.
“We are excited that Mark will continue to serve as an influential training and coaching leader in the direction of our franchise system and reinvigorate our team leaders and Keller Williams experience; these are areas in which Mark is passionate , his influence can be said to be unparalleled,” Willis said.
With the announcement of King’s departure, Keller Williams confirmed rumors of another round of layoffs. The layoffs, which include 30 full-time employees across multiple departments, are the result of the company’s renewed focus on its “core strengths and strengths.”
“With regard to the layoffs that have occurred at KWRI, we wish all of these individuals the best and express our sincere gratitude for their contributions,” Willis explained in a written statement. “The layoffs of approximately 30 people at KWRI reflect our return to our core strengths and Directions for strengths – coaching, training and know-how.”
A company spokesman said all 30 employees have received severance packages and will retain benefits through the end of the month. All employees are encouraged to apply for other positions within the company, he said.
“As the market continues to evolve, Keller Williams’ strategic direction is to focus more than ever on the models, systems and tools that have gotten us where we are today and will drive us into the future,” ” he added. In short, we decided to eliminate business opportunities that distracted us. “
“We are excited about the future of Keller Williams and excited about working with you.”
Email Marianne McPherson
