Realtors tap new CEO 2 days after $1.8 billion jury verdict on commission collusion

The National Association of Realtors said Thursday, Nov. 2 that it’s replacing its chief executive officer, effective Nov. 20.

In a statement Thursday, NAR said Nykia Wright would be interim CEO, starting Nov. 20, replacing Bob Goldberg who is retiring.

The news comes just two days after a federal jury ruled the organization and several other real estate companies had colluded to maintain high brokerage commissions.

NAR and some of the nation’s biggest real estate brokerages were ordered to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after a Missouri jury found they artificially inflated commissions paid to real estate agents.

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The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of 500,000 home sellers in Missouri and some border towns. The verdict stated that the defendants “conspired to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes in violation of federal antitrust law.”

The executive switch comes just two months after NAR’s previous CEO was ousted following a New York Times story that exposed allegations of sexual misconduct and harassment by then-CEO Kenny Parcell.

Three women who worked at the Chicago-based nonprofit said they were sexually harassed by Parcell, NAR’s president for 2023. They and others at NAR described a pattern of behavior that included improper touching and lewd photos and texts.

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The trade group said it’s launching a nationwide search to identify a permanent chief executive. Wright previously was the CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times; she left the newspaper in January.

NAR has 1.5 million dues-paying members and more than $1 billion in assets.

The Associated Press and The New York Times contributed to this report.