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Rainy Hake Austin is set to join The Agency as the luxury real estate brokerage’s new president, in a shake-up that will see its current president and co-founder Billy Rose move to a vice-chairman role on the company’s board of directors.
Mauricio Umansky | Photo credit: The Agency
Austin was previously the head of operations for Compass‘ West Coast outfit and prior to that served as vice president and chief operations officer of Alain Pinel Realtors (APR), which Compass acquired in March 2019.
Mauricio Umansky, CEO of The Agency, said in a statement that both he and Rose have long admired what Austin accomplished at APR, “in terms of culture and business ethics.”
“We believe that [Austin] stands for the important principles we hold so dearly at The Agency, and we know she will be an integral addition to the existing team,” Umansky said, in a statement. “We are looking forward to the opportunity to continue to build and expand our luxury boutique real estate brokerage and stay true to our culture and ethics with Rainy as our new president.”
For Austin, that admiration is mutual, she said, in a statement. She said joining The Agency now feels similar to joining APR in its early days, with all leaders sharing a similar vision. The appointment comes as the company celebrates its ninth anniversary.
“With the recent consolidation of the brokerage industry, I believe the firm is uniquely positioned to capitalize on its well-deserved reputation and expand its presence filling a void that exists in many luxury markets,” Austin said.
Rose was a founding member of The Agency, alongside Umansky, and has served as its president for the past nine years. He was also the company’s broker of record for a time and will now be elevated to the role of vice chairman.
Austin will report to both Umansky and Rose.
“[Austin’s] an adept decision-maker and an accomplished leader,” Rose said, in a statement. “But, perhaps most importantly, like [Umansky] and I, she believes in our mission to transform the brokerage industry by providing our agents with the best technology, resources, tools, and support, coupled with the broadest network and reach, to give our clients a best-in-class experience.”
