Over the past 50 years, Sotheby’s International Realty has become one of the industry’s preeminent luxury brands, and for 46 of those years, Philip White was there — serving as a senior vice president, regional manager and broker-owner before ascending to the highest levels of the firm and taking the CEO seat in 2013.
Today, the brokerage announced, exclusively to Inman, that industry veteran Mark McLaughlin will take over as its president and CEO.
McLaughlin has been in the industry for 35 years, starting in commercial real estate sales for Canadian firm Colliers International. He then worked at Jones Lang LaSalle, LoopNet and Morgan Lane Marin before becoming CEO of Pacific Union International in 2009.
“Reaching this milestone has given me the opportunity to reflect not just on everything this network has built together over 50 years, but what it can build looking 50 years forward,” White said in a prepared statement on Thursday. “It’s hard to think of someone better equipped to lead this next era than Mark McLaughlin, one of the most respected and accomplished entrepreneurs in luxury real estate.”
Through a bold expansion strategy, which included 12 mergers and acquisitions, McLaughlin grew Pacific Union into the largest independent firm in California, with an annual sales volume of $14 billion. Compass International Holdings bought the firm in 2018 for $64.5 million in cash plus $3.7 million in stock.
After the deal closed, McLaughlin stayed at Compass from 2018 to 2021 before focusing full-time on his longtime firm, McLaughlin Ventures. The leader returned to Compass temporarily in 2023 as an independent consultant and became a Compass International Holdings M&A Advisor in 2025.
Philip White
Mark McLaughlin
McLaughlin is now ready to take on his next challenge: guiding Sotheby’s International Realty into its next 50 years with the culture and standards White established still at the forefront.
“I am both humbled and inspired to lead a brand that is truly singular in our industry, and that stands at the pinnacle of luxury,” he said in a written statement. “It is an honor to follow in Philip’s footsteps, who built this brand into a category leader. I’m eager to listen and learn from this incredible network as we shape the next chapter for Sotheby’s International Realty.”
The change takes effect on Nov. 1.
White will now serve as the executive chairman, using his decades of experience to contribute to Sotheby’s International Realty’s growth strategies, agent recruitment and retention, and synergy with the Sotheby’s auction house, according to a release.
Under White’s leadership, including nearly nine years as president and COO, Sotheby’s International Realty grew from $4 billion in annual sales to $182 billion in 2025, with a network spanning 86 countries and territories. White also strengthened the firm’s relationship with the Sotheby’s auction house, blending the worlds of luxury real estate and fine art, an achievement that was cataloged in the brokerage’s first-ever book, The Art of Refined Living, published earlier this month in celebration of the brokerage’s 50th anniversary.
