Jay Papasan to end 26-year ‘wild ride’ as Keller Williams VP
The longtime KW executive said he’ll remain active as a writer and coach, and intends to stay involved with his family businesses.
Jay Papasan, Keller Williams Realty's vice president of strategic content, announced on Tuesday via LinkedIn that he will be stepping down from his day-to-day leadership role at the company as of August 1.
Keller Williams did not make an immediate announcement about whether someone will be filling the role in Papasan's absence.
A 26-year 'wild ride': Reflecting on his start at KW in September 2000, Papasan said the journey since has been "a wild ride." In his nearly 26 years at the company, Papasan served the franchise across many arenas — including coaching, research, publishing and marketing — and worked 26 Family Reunions and 25 Mega Camps. He also co-authored numerous books with KW Co-founder Gary Keller and the late KW executive Dave Jenks.
What Gary Keller had to say: In an email sent last week to KW leadership and agents, Keller addressed Papasan's planned departure and thanked him for all he has done for the company and the industry at large. Papasan "has the remarkable ability to take complicated ideas about life, relationships, leadership and business and express them in ways that are both significant and memorable," Keller wrote.
"That's one of the hardest things a writer can do, and Jay does it as well as anyone I've ever met," Keller added.
Still deeply involved in real estate: Moving forward, Papasan said he will be focusing more on his family businesses, writing and coaching. He plans to support his Austin-based Papasan Properties Group, which he leads with his wife Wendy, and will continue to host The ONE Thing podcast and lead The ONE Thing training and coaching team.
Although he will no longer serve as a KW executive, Papasan said he'll continue to work on KW book projects and coaching.
"I'm incredibly grateful for all I've learned and the incredible people I've gotten to work with," Papasan's post said.
Departure follows other leadership shakeups: Papasan's announcement follows several leadership changes at KW over the past 18 months. In March 2025, KW announced that it had taken on an investment from private equity firm Stone Point Capital, which became majority owner of the franchise. Keller has continued to retain partial ownership of the company.
As part of the investment, Christopher Czarnecki, who was CEO of the REIT Broadstone Net Lease, was named KW's president and CEO. Czarnecki began in the leadership role a couple of months after Mark Willis stepped down, and a few months later the franchise added Sandra Howard to its C-suite as chief marketing officer.
More recently, KW promoted longtime agent, coach and team leader Jason Abrams to chief industry and strategy officer, a role focused on global learning strategies and initiatives to strengthen KW's support of real estate entrepreneurs. Earlier this year, KW also tapped Christopher Brodhead, who has a background in investor relations and business development, to serve as chief revenue officer.