Executive Team Bios
Gary Keller
Co-founder and Chairman of the Board
As chairman of the board for Keller Williams Realty, Gary Keller helps provide strategic direction for the company, while serving as a visionary leader within the North American real estate industry.
Gary and his writing team have written three nationally best-selling books: The Millionaire Real Estate Agent, The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, and most recently, SHIFT: How Top Real Estate Agents Tackle Tough Times.
Based on his leadership qualities and contributions to the real estate industry, Inman News named Keller to the 100 Most Influential Real Estate Leaders of 2010. He has also been voted as one of the five "Most Admired People" in a survey conducted by REAL Trends magazine, was named Ernst & Young Entrepreneur of the Year for Central Texas and the second most influential person in the real estate industry by REALTOR® magazine, and was a finalist for Inc. magazine’s Entrepreneur of the Year award.
Despite the sharp downturn in the real estate market, since 2005 Keller Williams Realty has grown 30 percent in agents, 40 percent in market centers, 21 percent in closed units and 11 percent in closed GCI, under Gary’s direction. This unparalleled growth recently led the company to being recognized as the second-largest real estate franchise in the United States.
Additionally, Keller Williams Realty has received many honors including: the number one real estate franchise on the Annual Franchise 500 list from Entrepreneur magazine, highest in overall satisfaction from home buyers for three years in a row from J.D. Power and Associates, the highest ranked real estate franchise on the annual Training Top 125 by Training Magazine, named to the elite Franchise High Performers list by The Wall Street Journal.
Keller’s passions include snow skiing, fly fishing, playing the guitar, horseback riding, golf, reading, movies, rock concerts, football, basketball, and spending as much time as possible with his family and friends. He lives in Austin, Texas, with his wife, Mary, their son, John, and their three dogs, Max, Grace and Cash.
Mo Anderson
Vice Chairman
Mo Anderson is the heart and truly beloved leader of Keller Williams Realty. Her personal integrity and unending drive are touchstones that have made Keller Williams Realty one of the most successful franchises in real estate history.
Mo was named Keller Williams Realty's president and chief executive officer in 1995. Known at times as the “Velvet Hammer" for her uncompromising approach, Mo’s astute business acumen and leadership abilities are uniquely matched by her faith and compassion. She has continuously cultivated the firm’s value system, inspiring tens of thousands of associates throughout North America to maintain high standards of character within both their personal and professional lives.
Originally an elementary school music teacher, Mo’s first love was the piano. She taught music for 14 years before entering the real estate field, where her talents as a business women quickly took hold. She established her first real estate office, a Century 21 franchise, in Edmond, Okla., in 1975; soon after, it was the third top-producing office out of 7,500 Century 21 locations in North America. In 1986 Mo sold the company to Merrill Lynch Realty, where she served as a district Vice President until December 1989.
In her current role as vice chairman of Keller Williams Realty, Mo spends a significant amount of her time traveling and teaching at Keller Williams’ training events.
In December 2006, Mo was named one of America’s Top 25 Influential Thought Leaders by REALTOR magazine. In January 2007, the Women’s Council of REALTORS featured Mo as one of Real Estate’s Most Influential People in an article published in Connections. And, in 2008, Mo was inducted into the prestigious Hall of Leaders by the CRB Council.
Mo Anderson has been named twice as Oklahoma’s Women in Business Advocate of the Year by the U.S. Small Business Administration. She serves, or has served, on the boards of Edmond Memorial Hospital, the Francis Tuttle Vo-Tech Foundation, the Daily Living Center, and Ravi Zacharias International Ministries.
Mark Willis
CEO
With a laser sharp focus on setting stretch goals and modeling a caliber of leadership that ensures a consistently high level of achievement, Mark Willis stands as a consummate leader and advocate for growth. Mark stepped up to the role of CEO in 2005, having served as president for the previous three years. His tenure at the top ranks of Keller Williams Realty has coincided with one of the most tumultuous markets in the history of real estate – during which time he consistently urged market center leadership to seize the downturn as an opportunity for growth. As a result, Keller Williams Realty now ranks as the 3rd largest real estate company in the United States and is progressing on a growth trajectory toward No. 1.
Mark joined Keller Williams Realty in 1991 as the team leader of the Austin-Southwest market center, where he quadrupled the market center’s production over a five-year period. Later as regional director, he expanded the Texas-South region to San Antonio and Houston, eventually building a 1,900-agent business and in the process, earning him a place in REAL Trends Billionaire’s Club.
Prior to joining Keller Williams, Willis served as a branch manager for Coldwell Banker, and in the mid-1980s, he was the owner of Carriage House Realty.
Mary Tennant
President and COO
Ever since Mary Tennant joined Keller Williams Realty in 1992 and was named Rookie of the Year, she has consistently redefined what’s possible, while opening doors of wealth building and leadership for countless real estate professionals. As team leader of the Austin Southwest market center, she increased the real estate office’s annual closed volume sales from $90 million to $1.3 billion within eight years.
With a stellar track record for team building while developing efficiencies in staff and office operations, Mary was recruited by Keller Williams Realty’s executive staff to step into the role of chief operations officer in 2005. Within a year, her role was expanded to president. Recognized industry wide as an influential leader, Mary was cited in 2009 by the Women’s Council of REALTORS® as a Leading Woman in Real Estate, and in 2007, she received the Austin Business Journal’s Profiles in Power Award. In 2009, Inman News named her among the 100 Most Influential Leaders in Real Estate.
Mary currently oversees all operations for Keller Williams Realty International’s support center and continues to raise the bar for North America’s most dynamic real estate company in terms of profits, production, technological leadership, company culture and a joyful, generous approach to work and life.
Bryon Ellington
Chief Products Officer
As chief products officer (CPO), Bryon Ellington is focused on ensuring the synergistic development across all business units of training and tools that provide associates with a distinct edge.
Coming to Keller Williams Realty in 2002 with a background in education, Bryon stepped up to a pivotal role in the development of a wide range of educational and technological initiatives. Serving first as a research analyst in the Information Technology department, he helped to define the technology tools that would most effectively drive associates’ businesses forward. He later assumed a leadership role within Keller Williams University, where he channeled his instructional design skills into the creation of key training programs and authored several classes, including the Internet Lead Generation curriculum. In 2007, Bryon stepped up to the role of director of research, development and implementation, where he helped to create technology and training to serve the evolving needs of associates in an online environment and put Keller Williams Realty at the forefront of technology in the real estate industry.
Ann Yett
Chief Financial Officer
Ann Yett signed on as Keller Williams Realty International‘s chief financial officer in 2006. As CFO, she is responsible for overseeing all financial, accounting and tax functions and has taken the lead in enhancing financial reporting systems and controls for annual budgets, forecasts and cash management.
Prior to joining Keller Williams Realty Yett was a certified public accountant (CPA) at the executive and consulting level and was responsible for crafting the strategic directions for companies of all sizes within a wide range of industries.
Chris Heller
President of KW Worldwide
At the age of 21, Chris Heller received his real estate license and launched a stellar career in the real estate industry. He was named Rookie of the Year following his first full year in the business, and his career trajectory has continued on a steady upward climb.
For 18 consecutive years Chris has sold more than 100 homes per year, and more than 2,300 in his career. In the past five years, during one of the most challenging real estate markets in history, his sales volume has totaled more than $450 million. Also during this time Chris launched a market center. As operating principal, his vision and leadership have grown the market center to one of the region’s most productive and profitable.
Chris’s success in an increasingly complex and competitive marketplace is a function of his tenacity, drive, leadership skills, and the ability to assemble and empower high-functioning teams.
Now, having been named President of KW Worldwide, Chris’s leadership and relationship building skills are laying the groundwork for the expansion of the Keller Williams opportunity beyond the North American continent.
Keller Williams Canada