David Romero

David Romero

Realty ONE Group

After a decades-long career running Southern California’s CENTURY 21 Award, David Romero spent the past couple of years fielding some big changes. After joining forces with brokerage powerhouse CENTURY 21 Affiliated in 2022, Romero made another big switch in 2023, leaving the CENTURY 21 brand altogether to come on board as executive vice president of growth for Realty ONE Group (ROG).

Romero began his career as a real estate professional and then broker before accepting a role as COO and soon after CEO/president of CENTURY 21 Award. Under his leadership, the brokerage grew to one of the top five franchises in this global real estate brand for over 15 years, with 18 offices and over 1,000 REALTORS®.

According to Romero, his mission at ROG is clear: to grow the company through agent count, through new franchises, both in the U.S. and globally, and also in transaction count. He was attracted to ROG’s departure from the traditional franchise model along with its prowess in technology and branding. But more than anything, it was the people that sealed the deal.

“It’s all about the people here,” he told RISMedia in an interview last year. “There’s this kindness that permeates through the entire organization. It’s really amazing, and it’s infectious. Now that I’ve had the chance to meet more people, you see that in the agent, you see it in the franchise owners—the way they so proudly represent this brand. There’s no way to fake something like this. It is so genuine.”