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Richard A. Smith Richard A. Smith is chairman and chief executive officer of the Real Estate Services Division of Cendant Corporation, the largest franchisor of residential and commercial real estate brokerage offices in the world. As chairman and CEO of the Division, Smith oversees the Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, and ERA® real estate brands, which combined have more than 12,000 franchised offices and more than 200,000 brokers and agents worldwide. He is also responsible for Cendant Mobility, a global leader in corporate and government employee relocation with over 2,000 corporate clients; Cendant Mortgage, the nation's second largest retail mortgage originator; and NRT Incorporated, the nation's largest real estate company. The Cendant Real Estate Services Division, which employs more than 15,600 people, will post revenues of $6 billion and EBITDA of $1 billion on an annual run rate basis in 2002. Appointed chairman and CEO in 1996, Smith has not only overseen the significant organic growth of the Cendant real estate companies, he has also played a leading role in the creation of five new companies during his tenure. Smith was responsible for the consolidation of three of the relocation industry's largest players into a single new entity, Cendant Mobility in 1997-98. In addition, Smith assumed responsibility for Cendant Mortgage in the first half of 1998, a year in which that company's revenue grew by 97 percent and its EBITDA rose by 151 percent. In late 1997, he was instrumental in the creation of NRT Incorporated, a joint venture between Cendant and Apollo Management L.P., which was acquired by Cendant in April 2002. In addition, Smith has actively served as a national spokesman on the issue of special-sector employees. During his time with Days Inn, he spearheaded the company's initiative to hire such non-traditional workers as senior citizens, the homeless and people with disabilities. In 1989, then Georgia Governor Joe Frank Harris appointed Smith to the Governor's Committee on Employment of the Handicapped, a post he held until moving to New Jersey in 1992. As a member of the committee, he testified in 1991 before both the United States Senate and Congressional Committees on the benefits of hiring seniors. In May 2000, Smith received the Ellis Island Medal of Honor. Presented by the National Ethnic Coalition of Organizations (NECO) Foundation, Inc., the award has been given to six U.S. presidents, members of Congress, Nobel Prize winners, prominent scientists and military heroes in recognition of their significant contributions to their country. Its recipients are included in an annual listing in the Congressional Record. In July 2001, Smith was nominated as an honorary member of the Easter Seals National Board of Directors. Easter Seals assists more than one million children and adults with disabilities and their families annually through a nationwide network of more than 400 service sites. These centers provide top-quality, family-focused and innovative services tailored to meet the specific community needs. Smith earned an MS from Troy State University and BS from Columbus State University - both in criminal justice - and worked his way through school as an officer and later as a detective in the Columbus, Georgia police department. In October 2000, Columbus State University honored Smith with its Distinguished Alumni Award. In 2001, Smith was elected to the Columbus State University Foundation Board of Trustees. Established in 1963, the foundation secures private funding for scholarships, special needs and enrichment programs for the university. Born in Des Moines, Iowa, and raised in Columbus, Georgia, Smith is married and has two daughters.
About the Real Estate Services Division of Cendant Corporation
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