Longtime staffer to leave $235 million-revenue group by end of year

Giovaniello

May 16, 2018
By Walt Williams

Jerry Giovaniello will retire from his position of chief lobbyist at the National Association of Realtors after a 37-year career at the $235 million-revenue group.

Giovaniello currently is senior vice president of government affairs and chief lobbyist at NAR. He first joined the association in 1981 after having previously been chief of staff for two former members of Congress—one a Republican, and the other, a Democrat.

Giovaniello was named NAR's chief lobbyist in 2001 and has been one of Washington, D.C.'s most prominent association lobbyists. He was named Association Lobbyist of the Year in CEO Update's 2017 Association Leadership Awards.

"Jerry has had a distinguished nearly four-decade career at NAR, protecting the interests of Realtors, the real estate industry and current and future property owners," NAR CEO Bob Goldberg said in a statement. "NAR's advocacy efforts have greatly expanded and grown in influence in recent decades, and Jerry has contributed greatly to those efforts."

Giovaniello will remain until a successor is named, but plans to retire by the end of the year, NAR said in a statement. The association has begun a national search for a new chief lobbyist.