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Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices continued shaking up its leadership team by appointing Vince Leisey as president of HSF Affiliates, the group’s parent company announced on Tuesday.
HomeServices of America, the owner of BHHS, noted that Leisey has been with the brand network for nearly three decades before he was tapped to lead the franchisor of the BHHS network.
The announcement came five weeks after Berkshire Hathaway replaced its former CEO Gino Blefari with Chris Kelly. The company also promoted its chief financial officer and named a new executive vice president, among other changes.
“Vince’s passion for the network and our franchisees, coupled with his results-oriented approach, makes him exceptionally well-suited to guide our affiliates through the next chapter [in] our rapidly evolving industry,” Kelly said in a statement. “He brings a rare combination of energy, insight and operational know-how, along with a deep respect for people. He is ideally suited for this role.”
HomeServices of America owns the Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices franchise network and is owned by Berkshire Hathaway Energy, a subsidiary of Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway.
Christy Budnick is the former president and CEO of HSF Affiliates. She stepped down last June, and Blefari took over her role until his retirement in April.
Leisey has served as CEO of BHHS Ambassador Real Estate in Omaha, where he leads an organization of over 1,000 agents transacting nearly $3 billion in annual sales, the company said. He will remain in that role while serving as president of HSF Affiliates.
Leisey is also the founder of the Explosion Real Estate Conference and a contributor to BHHS REthink Council.
“I have so much respect for the leaders across this network, and I look forward to partnering even more closely to drive growth, deliver value, and challenge ourselves to think differently about what’s possible,” Leisey said in a statement. “Together, I believe we can continue to build the most trusted, innovative, and agent-empowered brand in real estate.”
The changes to Berkshire Hathaway’s real estate unit started one month after reports emerged that the company was negotiating to be sold to Compass. HomeServices of America denied that any such negotiation was taking place.
“The good thing is, we can say there is no contemplated, no pending transaction with Compass or any third party at this point,” Kelly told Inman in April. “We’re hopeful that these management transitions that we’re making are kind of reflective of our parent entity’s complete, full faith in us moving forward.”
Kelly denied at the time that Blefari’s retirement had anything to do with the rumored sale. Instead, he said that Blefari decided to weather the storm the industry and company faced during the past 18 months before retiring.
“It was important to him to help shepherd us through those challenging moments,” Kelly said. “As we’ve come out on the other side and we and the broader industry are kind of turning the page on that chapter of real estate and we’re moving forward under the new rules and everything else that are now put into place, he felt this was the right time to do it.”
