There are so many roles and facets involved in leading a brokerage, especially a national brand. One of the most vital is the leader in charge of the agents, the one who plans out how to give agents the tools and support they need for success. This leader pushes brokerages to constantly evolve to the next level, always moving into the future. One such leader is Tanya Reu-Narvaez, the chief people officer for Anywhere Real Estate.
Reu-Narvaez joined the ranks as a Futurist in RISMedia’s 2025 class of Real Estate Newsmakers for her work in shaping the brand’s human resources department into the agent-and-employee-focused support network it is.
In this entry of our Newsmakers Spotlight series, RISMedia and Reu-Narvaez discuss the pathways she and Anywhere have taken to build the services and support strategies their agents need to grow and succeed.
Claudia Larsen: Can you tell me a bit about your background in real estate and how you got to where you are today?
Tanya Reu-Narvaez: I’ve spent nearly two decades at Anywhere, and throughout that time, I’ve had the privilege of leading the people strategy across some of the most iconic brands in real estate. My journey has always been rooted in a belief that people are the most powerful lever for transformation and impact. From supporting revenue-generating business units to now serving as chief people officer, I’ve focused on aligning talent strategy with enterprise growth. I’ve seen firsthand how culture, inclusion and empowerment can drive performance. Today, I lead our global people strategy for nearly 8,000 employees and support a network of over 300,000 agents. It’s a role that allows me to shape the future of work in real estate—and that’s both a responsibility and a passion.
CL: What was it like creating and launching the Anywhere Way?
TRN: The Anywhere Way was a defining moment for our culture grounded in empowerment and transformation. It was anchored in a one-company vision, allowing us to honor our unique brands and their personalities, while also unifying under a set of behaviors that enable collective success. After spending a lot of meaningful time listening to our employees, we introduced three new company values, clarified our purpose and reinforced our Winning Behaviors to guide how we work at Anywhere. The Anywhere Way is more than words, it’s a framework that empowers our people across the company to lead, innovate and grow. It’s been incredible to see how it’s taken root throughout the enterprise and become something our employees live every day.
CL: Talk to me about the “Winning Together CPO Conversation” series—how did that idea come to fruition and how did you put it into action?
TRN: The “Winning Together” series came from a simple place: listening. It was born out of a desire to connect more authentically with our people. In a time of rapid change, I wanted to create space for candid, human conversations about timely topics that matter to our employees, enabling their growth, their experience and our collective culture. These conversations are spaces where employees can hear directly from me and other leaders across the company, ask questions and feel seen. It’s not a presentation, it’s a conversation. It’s been one of the most rewarding ways to stay connected and build trust.
CL: Your profile mentions your commitment to “utilizing technology to improve the employee experience,” which included introducing the streamlined PeopleHub platform. How do you go about looking for ways to incorporate new technology or improve on already existing tech, like with PeopleHub?
TRN: Technology should empower people, not overwhelm them. Therefore, we approach technology through the lens of enablement and how it makes our people move faster, giving them time for more strategic work. We start by listening to pain points—what’s slowing people down, what’s confusing or outdated. PeopleHub is a great example of this, and was borne from feedback. It was a major leap forward because it consolidated our legacy systems into a single, intuitive platform that puts the employees in control of their journey.
Introducing PeopleHub was not just a system upgrade—it was a mindset shift. We’ve been really focused on investing in AI as both an enabler and a thought partner. This year, we launched required AI training for employees and received 100% completion. We know change can be scary but we’re actively doing things to make our people feel comfortable using AI instead of fearing it and we’re loving the creativity we are seeing through Use Cases.
Our people-first strategies are based on the belief that humans are uniquely qualified to deliver successful results. Whether that be enabling our culture, solving complex business problems or managing through emotional intelligence and empathy, we are leveraging AI as a career coach to help them get these results and it’s been really awesome to witness.
CL: Your profile also mentions that the “Making Moves that Matter” event “allowed agents and franchisees to focus on the crucial role of DEI in Anywhere’s business strategy.” DEI is something that has been under fire this year but you and Anywhere remain committed to it, how has that experience been?
TRN: Inclusion has always been part of our business strategy. The “Making Moves that Matter” events allowed us to elevate this conversation into deeper, action-oriented strategies that enable growth. We brought together agents, franchisees and employees to explore how inclusion drives innovation, trust and growth. Real estate is a people business, and our customers are everyone. We work with all types of people to fulfill the dream of homeownership, so we’re staying the course and continuing to future-proof our company.
CL: What continues to keep you inspired to build Anywhere into “the company of the future”?
TRN: What inspires me most is reimagining how we work. The workplace has changed so much since the pandemic but even as recently as the last 12 months, and it’s changing rapidly. I think a successful company of the future focuses on its most important asset—its people—while ensuring a digital-first experience. Earlier this year we announced the rebrand of our Human Resources department to do just that. We transformed from a traditional HR model to a model centered on enabling growth, experience and culture, called People Enablement. We really focused on redefining the space, building a culture of enablement, where every employee feels equipped to grow, contribute and lead their own future. We’re operating in a time of massive workforce transformation, and that’s an incredible opportunity. The needs of employees continue to progress and are personal to each one, so we’re keeping a close eye on this.
Whether it’s reimagining flexible, investing in well-being or modernizing how we work, we’re constantly evolving based on the feedback of our employees. I’m energized by the chance to shape what’s next, not just for Anywhere, but for the entire industry. Being part of a company that leads with purpose, puts people first and leads from the front to create the future of work is what keeps me moving forward every day.
CL: Lastly, what does it mean to you to be named as one of RISMedia’s 2025 Real Estate Newsmakers?
TRN: It’s such an honor to be included on this list with so much of our phenomenal talent at Anywhere and in the housing industry. Being recognized as a Futurist is especially meaningful because it reflects the work we’re doing to lead with vision and courage. It was really great timing to receive this award at the start of the year knowing we were planning to rebrand our HR function to People Enablement. It’s a reflection of our strategy for the future, which directly involves our people with plans to invest in them, and for them, to build a culture that is truly transformative and future-proof.
Thank you to our 2025 Real Estate Newsmakers Sponsors:
Newsmakers Gold Sponsor
Real Estate Webmasters
Newsmakers Bronze Sponsors
American Home Shield
HouseAmp
Lofty
Realtors Property Resource
RISMedia is accepting nominations for our 2026 Real Estate Newsmakers! Help us recognize those driving the industry forward. Nominate a 2026 Real Estate Newsmaker today!
