Donald Pearson, chairman, Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty, recently completed the Ascend executive leadership program offered by Realogy, the real estate services company that owns the Sotheby’s International Realty brand, among other brands including Coldwell Banker and Century 21. This 46-week corporate experience provides franchise owners from Realogy brands with the leadership, business knowledge, critical skills and confidence to lead their companies. The intense year-long learning experience focuses on leadership techniques from the real executives working in all aspects of real estate. While Pearson has decades of business experience behind him, along with an M.B.A. from Harvard Business School, he says the Ascend experience was extremely useful.
“This program is an excellent training ground for future leaders in the Sotheby’s International Realty affiliate network,” says Pearson. “It was an opportunity to really understand how deep the bench is in terms of talent at Realogy, and it also was an opportunity to learn how to approach various issues that every owner and manager in the real estate industry faces.”
Ascend: The Executive Leadership Experience was developed by Michael R. Good, chairman emeritus since 2013 of Sotheby’s International Realty, along with other professionals from the Realogy Franchise Group. Good served as the first chief executive officer of the Sotheby’s International Realty® brand from February 2004 to February 2013.
Kurfiss Sotheby’s International Realty is on track to grow to 120 agents by the end of 2023, says Pearson. Based on his experience, he will rely on the Ascend program to train professionals from his company to prepare for future leadership roles at the company.
Kurfiss Sotheby's International Realty 