February 22, 2010 // Franchising.com // PARSIPPANY, N.J., -- Century 21 Real Estate LLC, the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, today announced that Realogy veteran Rick Davidson has been appointed as president and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate. Davidson replaces Tom Kunz, who resigned after serving in this role since June 2004. The leadership transition will begin immediately.
"We thank Tom Kunz for his many years of service to the CENTURY 21 System, and we wish him well in the future," said Alex Perriello, president of the Realogy Franchise Group. Realogy, a leading global provider of real estate and relocation services, is the parent company of CENTURY 21®. "I am especially pleased that we were able to make this executive appointment from within Realogy, which speaks to the high level of managerial talent that exists across our organization," added Perriello.
Davidson will now lead the world's largest residential real estate sales organization. The CENTURY 21 System encompasses approximately 7,700 independently owned and operated franchised brokerage offices and 117,000 sales associates in 67 countries and territories worldwide. Davidson will report directly to Perriello.
"We are excited to welcome Rick Davidson to the CENTURY 21 System and put his energy and ideas to work in leading one of the world's most recognizable brands," said Perriello. "Rick brings a unique mix of leadership experience from the residential and commercial real estate industries along with a strategic focus on growth. He is a proven leader as the head of a franchise network, and as a former franchise owner of a Realogy brand, he also understands the franchisee perspective. Rick has more than 20 years of service in this industry, and his experiences at Realogy for the past four years will serve him well as he embarks on this new opportunity to lead CENTURY 21 into the future."
Most recently, Davidson served in a dual capacity as chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Real Estate LLC and as president and chief operating officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Affiliates. In this role, Davidson was responsible for overseeing the Coldwell Banker residential franchise operations on a global basis for the past year after having led the brand's commercial operations since May 2006. Specifically, he was responsible for directing the operations, field services, education and mortgage services programs across this global residential real estate network.
During the past four years, Davidson's leadership of Coldwell Banker Commercial has been credited with reinventing the brand's value proposition and reinvigorating its network of affiliated brokers and sales associates. Previously, Davidson founded his own real estate brokerage firm in 2003, serving as chief executive officer of Coldwell Banker Commercial Capitol Realty Services, a leading commercial real estate firm in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan market.
Before establishing his own brokerage firm, Davidson spent nine years as managing director of CB Richard Ellis in the Washington, D.C., metropolitan area and three years with Insignia/ESG as executive vice president. With more than 20 years of experience in the real estate industry, Davidson is a licensed real estate broker in Virginia, Maryland and the District of Columbia. He has received several national awards for real estate excellence, is a member of the Urban Land Institute and holds designations from the Building Owners and Managers Association's Real Property Administrator (RPA) and the Society of Industrial and Office Realtors (SIOR).
An honors graduate of National Louis University in Chicago, Davidson is active in the community with a number of local and national charities. In each of the past three years, he has organized and led mountain climbing expeditions to raise funds and awareness for Big Brothers Big Sisters. In 2009, Davidson's climbing group reached the summits of Washington's Mount Rainier and Mount Adams, a combined summit height of 26,686 feet.
About Century 21 Real Estate LLC:
Century 21 Real Estate LLC is the franchisor of the world's largest residential real estate sales organization, providing comprehensive training, management, administrative and marketing support for the CENTURY 21 System. The System is comprised of more than 7,700 independently owned and operated franchised broker offices and 117,000 sales associates in 67 countries and territories worldwide. Century 21 Real Estate LLC is a subsidiary of Realogy Corporation, a global provider of real estate and relocation services.
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