Arthur Meirson, sales manager of Compass’ regional headquarters in San Francisco, has been let go, the brokerage confirmed, citing resource realignment as the cause.
“Any adjustments made as a part of this process are made to strengthen our operations and focus on the strategic priorities that will deliver the most value,” a Compass spokesperson said in a statement.
There are no disciplinary actions on Meirson’s record, according to California Department of Real Estate records, which puts Meirson’s last day at Compass as January 31. He is currently unaffiliated, according to the state agency.
Meirson did not immediately reply to a request for comment on the departure but the announcement seemed sudden, according to a source within his former Beach Street office.
“People were surprised,” the source said. “He did a lot for the office, but unfortunately I think Compass is going through a lot of consolidation and moves happen fast.”
Kevin Patsel, regional vice president of Northern California and former sales manager at Beach Street, will be taking over operations there for the time being, the Compass representative said. He will be supported by associate sales manager Emma Finlay. Patrick Barber will maintain his position as managing director, overseeing all SF and Marin offices.
“We are currently assessing our needs to see exactly what kind of additional support we might need in San Francisco and will make decisions accordingly,” Patsel said.
Compass has four sales managers covering San Francisco, the company said. The Beach Street office is its regional headquarters, but it also has offices in Noe Valley, the Castro and on upper Van Ness. Patsel said the company is “fortunate to have a deep bench of sales managers and risk management professionals supporting our agents in San Francisco, along with a full staff of marketing and agent experience staff.”
Meirson left a branch manager role at Coldwell Banker in 2022 to lead the city’s flagship office, home base to over 200 agents in a 13,000-square-foot space in Ghirardelli Square.
Before starting a second career as an agent, Meirson was a real estate attorney for 10 years at Goldstein, Gellman, Melbostad & Harris. He had been a useful resource on legal matters, according to the Beach Street office source.
Brokerages are allowed to separate from an agent without giving cause, according to a Department of Real Estate spokesperson, though there are some limitations. The agent cannot be terminated based on a protected right like race, ethnicity or religion, and the brokerage must honor its contractual terms, if there is a contract in place governing the affiliation relationship. That is not typically a contract term for real estate agents, who are almost always categorized as independent contractors.
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