After two decades as CEO of one of the largest real estate portals and brokerages in the country, Glenn Kelman announced Tuesday that he would be resigning from Redfin and leaving the real estate industry altogether.
The move comes months after Redfin was acquired by Rocket in a stock deal valued at $1.75 billion. Kelman, who became known as Redfin’s source of important news over the years, announced the news in a LinkedIn post.
Kelman’s last day is Friday. Rocket CEO Varun Krishna will take over as head of Redfin as the company looks to replace Kelman. Kelman will remain available as an advisor until April 1, he writes.
Redfin CEO Glenn Kelman on stage at Real Estate Connect San Francisco.
“Redfin just completed our first phase as a Rocket company, the integration,” Kelman wrote. “We’re starting the second, much longer phase next week at the all-company meeting, which is on a much larger scale. As I approached that, I had to decide whether I was going to stay with Rocket for years to come.”
Rocket’s acquisition of Redfin was one of the most significant deals in a year of real estate mergers and acquisitions.
With the purchase of Redfin, Rocket took a big leap toward becoming a full-service national real estate company, offering consumers the space to view homes, work with a real estate agent, qualify for a mortgage, and have their home loans serviced, all through one company.
As CEO, Kelman was instrumental in transforming Redfin from a small startup and early adopter of the Internet’s role in real estate search to a major brokerage with agents in markets across the country.
He positioned the company as a consumer-focused brokerage with the goal of lowering the costs of homeownership and real estate transactions.
The work culminated in Redfin’s merger with Rocket in June.
Kelman spoke exclusively to Inman insiders about the sale next month at Inman Connect San Diego.
During the interview with Inman founder Brad Inman, Kelman repeatedly pushed back on Inman for referring to him in the past tense, as if he had left the company.
“I plan to build Redfin at Rocket,” Kelman said at the time.
Brad Inman, left, and Glenn Kelman dancing on the Inman Connect Las Vegas stage on August 3. Credit: AJ Canaria
He said it was a difficult decision to agree to the sale of the company, but that he believed the combination was a benefit to consumers.
“Rocket believes in technology, and Rocket believes in service,” Kelman said. “There are not many companies that believe in that double commitment.”
Kelman is known as a gregarious executive who delivered colorful quotes to every audience, from reporters to Wall Street investors and more.
He told Inman that he was at a rustic cabin in Maine with his twin brother when the Rocket deal was made.
‘The silk you get on corn had gone down the drain, and I got a hanger, and then I got a plunger [to unclog it]Kelman said. ‘My prosaic life has not changed. So I’m up at 1am cleaning up this sink.”
Even in his farewell announcement, Kelman chose a headline that showed off his sense of humor: “Unemployed, in Greenland,” a reference to an iconic line from Rob Reiner’s cult classic. Princess Bride.
What’s next for Kelman?
Kelman didn’t reveal his next move, but he made one thing clear: It will take place outside of the real estate industry.
“I want to try to find another mission-driven business outside of real estate,” Kelman wrote. “I am grateful that Rocket has been such a good owner of Redfin, and that Varun has been such a kind leader.”
“Running so fast with such smart people made me feel free when I once thought of the corporate world as a prison,” Kelman wrote.
“The whole miracle of human ingenuity begins with the simple act of thinking for yourself, but that depends on finding people to whom you can say what you really think,” Kelman wrote. “I discovered those people when Redfin was still living in an apartment, and that grew a thousandfold in our culture.”
In his farewell letter, Kelman said he would remain friends with Krishna and everyone in the industry – whether he had met them or not.
“I didn’t deserve to work with so many good people for so long, and now I’ll spend the rest of my life trying to pay you back,” he wrote. “Any one of you could show up at my door with a new baby or after a flat tire in the rain, or just to say hello. In my mind, you say one word, REDFIN, and I say COME IN.”
Industry insiders are reacting
Kelman’s stature in the industry was reflected in early responses from other top real estate industry leaders.
“Glenn was a tenacious, never-giving entrepreneur who turned heads in the industry and understood that it takes courage to tell the truth,” Brad Inman told Inman. “I love this man. He’s not done yet.”
Mike Simonsen, chief economist at Compass, described Kelman’s departure as “the end of an era.”
“Glenn, it has been a real pleasure watching you lead over the years. I have always enjoyed your stories with your mentor Kirill [Sheynkman]and I’m sure you’re playing that role for a lot of people now. Good luck and love to you!”
Nodding to Redfin’s recent major acquisition deal with Rocket, HousingWire CEO Clayton Collins wrote: “Huge congratulations on the incredible company you’ve built, and the incredible deal and integration with Rocket…”
T3 Sixty Founder and Executive Chairman Stefan Swanepoel commented: “You were a true game changer. I am sorry to see you retire from a company with which your name has long been synonymous. Best wishes for continued success in the next chapter of your career!”
Dan Green, director of mortgage growth at Opendoor, added: “I loved watching you manage your playbook, Glenn. No one has done it quite like you. Congratulations on the future. Best wishes.”
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