Christina Pappas Named Keyes Co. President
Christina Pappas is taking over as president of the Keyes Company, one of the largest independent brokerages in Florida.
Pappas, who has been with the Miami-based company since 2011, was vice president of operations for about two years before her promotion, she said. She’ll continue to work alongside her father, Mike Pappas, who will continue as CEO. Mike, who was formerly also president, will focus on Keyes’ expansion, including mergers and acquisitions across the state. Christina will take over the day-to-day operations, she said.
“We have been in constant communication with several firms in Florida,” she added.
Christina Pappas was president of the Florida Realtors last year. The organization has more than 238,000 members.
At Keyes, she also oversees the brokerage’s marketing and technology, and will launch programs for the firm’s agents. One program will focus on expanding Keyes’ relationships with consumers, and another will be a wealth-building program for agents to invest in commercial real estate alongside Keyes. With the latter, Pappas said the goal is to help agents “grow their wealth” by buying into real estate that would begin paying out distributions after 15 to 20 years.
Pappas said she will also continue working with the presidents of the six companies that fall under the Keyes umbrella.
The promotion is part of the succession plan at Keyes, she said. Pappas marks the fourth generation of leadership for Keyes, which is nearly 100 years old. Keyes has 58 offices and more than 3,600 agents across the state, with the majority in South Florida. Last year, the firm closed $10 billion in business, including its brokerage, mortgage, title, insurance and property management services, according to a release.
A number of independent brokerages have been acquired by national companies over the years, in part because of the growing cost of business and shrinking margins.
“We believe there are a lot of companies, a lot of brokers, looking for that independent broker still large enough to compete,” she said.