After almost 26 years with the firm, Jay Papasan announced July 21 he is stepping away from his day-to-day role at Keller Williams as vice president of strategic content. He announced the news in a LinkedIn post.
Papasan said he’s stepping down to focus on his family business, writing and coaching. His last official day will be Aug. 1. He called his time at the real estate giant “a wild ride.”
“I’ve worked 26 Family Reunions and 25 MegaCamps,” he wrote. “I’ve written books with Gary (Keller, executive chairman of the board), (author) Dave (Jenks), and the publishing team that have sold over 7 million copies. I’ve also led KWU, Research, Publishing, KW Video, and Marketing. I even did a stint in support, wearing a headset and helping agents set up their websites and email.
“I feel like I’ve had five careers,” he quipped.
In a note sent to all the brokerage’s agents, Keller called Papasan a “dear friend” and “one of the finest thinkers I’ve ever had the privilege to know.”
“Jay has dedicated his life to helping others live their best lives both personally and professionally. I’ve had a front-row seat to that journey for more than two decades, and I can tell you without hesitation that the best is still ahead of him,” Keller wrote.
Keller also reminisced on Papasan as a “writing partner,” saying they spent “thousands of hours” writing together.
Papasan books include two of real estate’s most well-known titles, The Millionaire Real Estate Agent and The Millionaire Real Estate Investor, which he co-authored with Keller, and Jenks, who passed away in 2021.
According to his post, Papasan started with Keller Williams in September of 2000 when there were just 27 employees serving less than 7,000 agents. Today, Keller Williams has grown to 1,100 offices and more than 176,000 agents.
“During my time, we grew to be the largest real estate franchise by agent count in the world,” he wrote in his post. “My first role was writing a newsletter for our tech team.
“I’m incredibly grateful for all I’ve learned and the incredible people I’ve gotten to work with,” he noted.
Papasan said moving ahead he’ll still be working on Keller Williams book projects, teaching across the country, and supporting his wife Wendy and their Austin real estate team, the Papasan Properties Group. He also plans to continue hosting The ONE Thing podcast and leading the ONE Thing training and coaching team.
“The journey we’ve shared has been one of the greatest privileges of my life, and I can’t wait to see where our next chapter takes us,” Keller wrote.
Editor’s note: this story was updated at 1:26 p.m. eastern time with comments from Gary Keller.
