The Job Description for NAR's Next CEO

In its search for a CEO to replace the retiring Dale Stinton, The National Association of REALTORS® posted a position specification Wednesday, giving insight into the capabilities and qualities needed to become NAR CEO.

The Traits for NAR’s Next CEO

Heidrick & Struggles have identified the following key competencies required for the job:

• Influence and relationship building: Ability to ask questions, listen, and reach consensus regarding challenges facing the association.
• Collaboration and decisiveness: Firmness in decision-making, with the ability to assess the facts of a situation and weigh alternatives.
• Negotiating and navigating: Effective problem-solving abilities with strategic, business development, and negotiation skills, and ability to be a persuasive advocate for REALTORS®.
• Strategy and execution: Strong vision and ability to execute strategies through process management and leadership.
• Change and innovation: Forward thinker “who inspires a culture change and innovation while remaining respectful of, and maintaining successful elements of, current and previous priorities of NAR.”
• Integrity: Self-awareness; ability to lead with enthusiasm and dynamism; exceptional personal integrity and diplomacy in setting high standards for personal and professional behavior. 

The winning candidate will need “exceptional interpersonal skills,” the ability to “serve as a public face of the organization,” and readiness to tackle the challenges and opportunities facing the real estate industry. In the position specification, the search committee outlined a variety of issues, including tax reform, consumer and REALTOR® engagement, technology influences, growth and protection of the REALTOR® brand, professional standards, and maintaining the relevance of the association, the industry, and its membership.

Along with NAR’s Leadership Team and Board of Directors, the CEO also is charged with providing strategic leadership, a vision for the future of the organization, and a transparent approach to decision-making and goal-setting.

Stinton, CPA, RCE, retires at the end of 2017 after 36 years with NAR, 12 of those years as CEO. Under his leadership, the organization has more than $200 million in annual revenue and a 335-person staff, representing more than 1.2 million REALTORS®.

NAR has assembled a search committee and hired executive recruitment firm Heidrick & Struggles to find suitable candidates to replace Stinton. The company surveyed more than 100 current and former association leaders, staff, and representatives from within the real estate industry to gather input on the qualities needed for NAR’s next CEO.

NAR is looking for candidates both inside and outside the real estate industry. The successful candidate likely will have strong prior experience leading a significant trade association, professional society, or other large and multipart business.

To learn more and read the full position specification, visit nar.realtor/ceosearch.

—Melissa Dittmann Tracey, REALTOR® Magazine