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Mega Camp, held in Austin, TX, boasts more than 11,000 registrations across three major sessions (Mega Technology Camp, Mega Agent Camp, and Mega Leadership Camp) featuring interviews and panels with industry experts and top producing agents.
KW Worldwide President, Chris Heller, announced the signing of the company's latest overseas master franchisees. "We are always looking for the right people to foster and grow the Keller Williams Realty mission, vision and culture. When we find the right leadership, our goal is to leverage our proven models, systems, and trainings to serve our international communities at the highest level," said Heller. "We welcome aboard our partners in Indonesia and the Southern Africa region, which includes South Africa, Namibia, Swaziland, Lesotho, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mauritius, and Mozambique. We are excited to see them experience the same momentum and growth we have seen in North America."
Preparations for the newest international market centers are already underway and are located in Pretoria, South Africa and Jakarta, Indonesia. "We are extremely excited and cannot wait for our opportunity to offer the South African real estate industry the Keller Williams value proposition," said master franchisor, Johan Gouws. "We simply cannot carry on in the South African real estate industry the way things are now. Keller Williams is the company of change for us; the company for agents, by agents. Over the past year [my master franchising partner, Niel Cronje] and myself have become very fond of our Keller Williams friends and their value system of 'God, family, then business.'"
"This is not just another international brand," added Cronje. "This a real American company with a uniquely nontraditional, interdependent model that is growing globally. This is the most innovative real estate brand in the world, the one that is committed to building 'careers worth having, businesses worth owning, and lives worth living,' and the only brand that is truly for the agents. We can certainly see that the Keller Williams culture will sit very well with our market."
Gouws has over 30 years of experience in the South African real estate market including overseeing gated developments and land acquisition for commercial and residential developments in Pretoria. Cronje also brings extensive business experience to the team with over 21 years of experience in both national and international real estate, as well as setting up and running his own profitable franchise operation. "The missing link in my business," he pointed out,"was Keller Williams."
Tertius Zitzke, CEO and owner of AccTech Systems, is the partner responsible for managing the technology and will be integrating the South African and Keller Williams systems. Completing the master franchise team is real estate industry icon Stefan Swanepoel, the New York Times Best-Selling Author of Surviving Your Serengeti: 7 Skills to Master Business & Life and renowned inspirational speaker on topics including leadership, personal development, technology, and annual real estate trends.
The two new KW Worldwide teams, led by Gouws, Cronje, Zitzke, and Swanepoel in the Southern Africa region and Tony Eddy in Indonesia, join nearly 77,000 associates and 675 offices in the United States and Canada, where the company has been franchising since 1991. "We are proud to be joining a company with such a strong system of beliefs and policy of putting real estate agents first," said Eddy. "We are excited to see how we'll thrive in the Indonesian market with the support of our new Keller Williams partners."
Eddy, Chairman and CEO of Tony Eddy & Associates (TEA), has more than 14 years in the real estate project marketing consulting business, covering the Jakarta and Bali markets. Eddy received his MBA in Finance, Investment & Banking as well as his MSc in Real Estate and Urban Economics from University of Wisconsin - Madison, and is a former Real Estate Credit Manager with Citibank - Jakarta. Eddy is also a member of the National Association of Realtors (NAR), the first and only CIPS residing in Indonesia, and a member of the Indonesian Association of Real Estate Brokers (AREBI), where he serves as President for Bali Chapter.
In 2010, Keller Williams Realty CEO Mark Willis announced the expansion of Keller Williams Realty beyond North America and earlier this year, the company awarded its first overseas franchise in Vietnam. Negotiations with potential franchisees in several other countries continue as Keller Williams Realty intends to add 50,000 associates worldwide over the next 10 years.
"We've been asked why we've chosen worldwide expansion in the current market, and the answer is simple: momentum! Our proven models and systems allow our associates and offices to succeed in any real estate market," said Willis. "As we continue to see years of unprecedented growth and technological innovation, expanding our opportunities abroad signifies the next logical step towards our growth as a company."
About Keller Williams Realty, Inc.
Founded in 1983, Keller Williams Realty, Inc. (kw.com / kwworldwide.com) is the second-largest real estate franchise operation in the United States, with 675 offices and almost 77,000 associates across the globe. The company, which began franchising in 1990, has an agent-centric culture that emphasizes access to leading-edge education and promotes an economic model that rewards associates as stakeholders and partners. The company also provides specialized agents in luxury homes and commercial real estate properties.
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