Above, Gino Blefari, left, and Chris Kelly
As part of a planned succession strategy, Gino Blefari, who has captained HomeServices of America as president and CEO since 2019, has moved into the role of chairman emeritus, the company announced April 15. Chris Kelly, who had been serving as the company’s executive vice president, will take over as president and CEO, effective immediately.
Blefari, who will continue as a strategic advisor in his new role, said in a statement that “it has been the honor of a lifetime to serve as president and CEO of HomeServices of America. I am incredibly proud of what we have accomplished together and the exceptional team we have built. I look forward to supporting our new leadership team as they lead HomeServices into its next chapter of growth, innovation and continued industry leadership.”
RISMedia spoke with Kelly, who explained that the succession plan had been in the making for some time, with Blefari fully involved in the strategy.
“This was something that Gino had been thinking about for quite some time,” said Kelly, who formerly served as CEO of Ebby Halliday Companies. “Essentially, our whole industry went through a period of defensive posturing over the last year and a half out of necessity with the trial, the verdict, the settlement and then the NAR changes. I appreciate the fact that Gino realized working through all that was priority number one. Now that we’re at a point where we can kind of close that chapter and move forward, he felt this was the appropriate time to make the (leadership) change.”
Kelly expressed gratitude for the opportunity to work closely with Blefari during his tenure. “To his credit, when he put me in my prior position of executive vice president, we really worked in partnership together,” he said. “That’s something I’ll always be grateful for—that he was helping mentor and guide me along the way.”
During a podcast recorded earlier this year for RISMedia’s RealEdge, Blefari shared his career journey with RISMedia Founder & CEO John Featherston, providing candid details about his path from a once-rural Silicon Valley to real estate success.
Featherston described Blefari as one of the real estate industry’s most widely respected and admired leaders. “Gino has excelled in every role he has ever accepted,” said Featherston. “From his start as a sales associate to becoming an office manager then a general manager, followed by his incredible years building and owning a giant regional brokerage firm, to then becoming one of our industry’s most successful corporate executives, Gino’s track record is legendary. Now he will focus on the next leg of his journey, and while serving as chairman emeritus of HomeServices of America, I am sure we will see Gino continuing to support our industry, positively contributing to its advancement in the months and years to come.”
Kelly acknowledged that he and HomeServices of America will continue to tap into Blefari’s experience and expertise when big-picture issues arise.
“I mean, we’d be crazy not to,” he said. “Gino has such a plethora of real estate knowledge that we absolutely plan to continue to tap into him and seek guidance, and ask for his input, and to bring him in on meetings and some of the decisions we’re making. But we’ll be careful to respect the newfound time he’ll have with his family and friends and other interests. We’ll utilize him the best that we can.”
Following a March 13 Wall Street Journal report that Compass is in “advanced” talks to acquire HomeServices, Blefari sent out a statement to the HomeServices community denying the report, calling it “misinformation.” No such acquisition has since taken place. According to Kelly, the Compass acquisition rumor had no bearing on yesterday’s C-suite maneuvering.
“(Gino’s) decision was firmly planted well before any of that,” said Kelly. “And again, we’re just really getting to a point now where we felt the organization was in a good environment and ready to take that next step forward and kind of close the chapter on the challenges that we worked through over the last couple of years.”
Featherston explained that building strong leadership teams has long been one of Blefari’s greatest strengths, exemplified in the elevation of Kelly to the CEO role.
“Chris Kelly is a well-respected leader with a proven success record that shows his complete understanding of every aspect of our industry, from the individual challenges facing sales associates and brokers to the widespread issues impacting the future of this business,” said Featherston. “The Chris Kelly era at HomeServices has begun, and there’s no doubt the long legacy of leadership started by Ron Peltier and sustained and improved upon by Gino will be carried on by Chris. I extend my sincere congratulations to both Gino and Chris.”
There are no further changes on the executive level, Kelly affirmed, adding that everything is always open to improving whenever and however HomeServices can.
“We want to make sure that we’re providing the right resources and folks for our operating company so that they have the support they need and can in turn support their agents,” he said. “It’s a cascading effect. We want to put the right structure in place to give our companies all the advantages they need.”
As for how his day-to-day will change, Kelly said Blefari’s leadership already showed him the path forward.
“For me, the main thing’s going to be leaning on others to really help and support our operating companies, and in turn their agents and their clients,” he said. “We and the rest of the executive team will be scoping out more than just what the urgency of today is, but what’s going to be important a year from now, five years from now, 10 years from now. So really making sure that I’m being disciplined with my time and thinking about the future, not just what’s going on today.”