Longtime staffer to replace Dale Stinton, who led group for 12 years

Goldberg

The National Association of Realtors has once again tapped a longtime staffer to the lead the $226 million-revenue organization.

NAR announced June 23 that Bob Goldberg has been named CEO, to succeed Dale Stinton, who announced late last year he would retire once a replacement was found. Goldberg will be based at the association's headquarters in Chicago and begin his new role Aug. 1.

Goldberg currently is senior vice president of sales and marketing, business development and strategic investments, professional development and conventions. He first joined the group in 1995. Stinton, who has led the group for 12 years, was also promoted to his current position, having previously been CFO and CIO.

In an interview with CEO Update, Goldberg said NAR's leadership was looking for a change agent in its next CEO.
"We have seen massive changes to the real estate industry, just because of the fact real estate transactions are done differently—there are more electronic (transactions) in play today and there's a whole lot of outside disruptors coming in," he said.

NAR's obligation to members is to make sure Realtors remain primary players in real estate transactions and the primary contacts with consumers, Goldberg said

"Knowing the consumer is ultimately going to decide how real estate plays out, we have to do things differently as an association and do things differently as an industry," he said.

NAR had more than 1.2 million members in 2016, up from roughly 1 million in 2012, according to membership figures on the site. The group is a political powerhouse, spending millions of dollars in advocacy at all levels of government. The association increased annual dues from $80 to $120 per member in 2011 to raise more money for its political activities.

Goldberg's background is business, not advocacy. He is currently CEO of the Realtors Information Network, a for-profit subsidiary of NAR. He helped launch the property listing service Realtor.com and the association's investment arm, Second Century Ventures. He also is the former SVP of PRC Realty Systems, a computer-based real estate information systems firm.

Goldberg was the second-highest paid staffer at NAR in 2015, earning $778,322 in compensation, according to the group's most recent tax records. Highest paid was Stinton, who earned more than $1.6 million.

The incoming CEO isn't spelling out his plans for the group, but will kick off his tenure listening to others in the real estate industry.

"We can start to build a new approach as we go forward," he said.

Recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles assisted in the search.