Vince Dennington to head up new country house department at John D Wood & Co

Vince Dennington has been appointed as the head of the new country house division at John D Wood and Co.

Dennington said: “Having worked with our clients here at John D Wood and Co. for many years and with a deep understanding of the market I am delighted to be building our network outside of our current prime locations.”

The new country house team will specialise in the sale of country homes and estates covering Surrey, Kent, Hampshire, Sussex, Berkshire, Oxford and surrounding areas.

The firm’s managing director, Polly Ogden Duffy, commented: “The ever-increasing demand from our clients to work with us to sell their country residence has been difficult to ignore. In recent years, our focus has predominantly been within the Royal Borough of Kensington and Chelsea, South West London, and Surrey.

“As a result of the Covid-19 pandemic we have seen a significant increase in buyers looking for a second home or weekend retreat outside of London. That coupled with existing clients looking for our expertise to help them sell their country house or estate provided us with this exciting opportunity to expand.”

Gary Keller steps down as CEO of Keller Williams

Gary Keller has stepped down as CEO of Keller Williams, just 18 months after re-joining the firm, as part of the wider restructuring of the agency.

Keller, who co-founded the agency in 1983 but left in 1995, returned last year, replacing John Davis, to guide the company’s digital transformation. He will now serve on the board of directors.

In an email to company executives, Keller said stepping down was something he was “working toward for many months” and it would enable him “the opportunity to get back to my passion — placing my focus on the vision for our industry, consulting our amazing agents and leaders, and building the models and systems for tomorrow’s real estate environment”.

Josh Team, the president at Keller Williams, is now assuming all of Keller’s former duties and responsibilities, but he not be given the title of CEO, as the position no longer exists.

The changes reflect a restructuring of the company, primarily due to the founding of a holding company, KWx, which will represent all of its affiliates and subsidiaries, including Keller Williams Realty, and its mortgage and home insurance businesses.

Carl Liebert has been appointed the new CEO of KWx, while Keller will be the executive chairman of KWx as well as Keller Williams.

The Right Mortgage adds to team

The Right Mortgage, which comprises of The Right Mortgage & Protection Network and The Right DA Club, has expanded its team with several appointments to support the growth in its adviser numbers.

The appointment of Janet Nicholls, Maria Warrington, Richard Knowles and Michael Harrison adds to the audit and supervision team which currently includes Angela Martin, Leena Mistry, Robin Pearson and Tracy Auchterlonie.

The network also made a number of internal promotions with Nick Crombie now taking the role of head of quality, policy & risk, Angela Martin now the network’s head of audit & supervision and Aidan McCarthy now the network’s training manager.

Meanwhile, Graham Webb and Adrian Foulks join the network’s equity release supervision and development function, having both previously worked at Responsible Equity Release.

In addition, Alia Mahmood and Kayleigh Brookes join the network’s compliance support and packaging teams.

Martin Wilson, CEO at The Right Mortgage, said: “With the year of 2020 being one in which we’re all learning to navigate, we find the growth within our sector, and the positive outlook of our members, a fantastic ode to the nature of our industry as a whole.

“Our support teams are stronger than ever, and we continue to grow in every area of our business, which is a testament to not only our incredible staff, who continue to offer the highest quality of support to our advisers and firms, but also our members who continue to adapt, grow and thrive in this ever-changing world.

“I’m very proud of the progress we have made this year, and the adaptability of our network and membership as whole and would like to take this opportunity to thank our members for their continued support.”