UPDATED: APRIL 18 at 10:15 A.M.:
A Bay Area commercial real estate veteran is switching teams from Compass to Berkshire Hathaway.
Stephen Pugh was president of Compass California’s commercial division from 2018 until 2022, and now will join Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices Drysdale Properties as its new director of commercial real estate strategy.
Before joining Compass, Pugh served as president at Alain Pinel, Paragon and Pacific Union International which was absorbed by Compass California in 2018. He led the transition of Pacific Union’s commercial team with Compass’ commercial teams in San Francisco and Los Angeles. He left his position as president in 2022, but remained with Compass as the head of a commercial brokerage team until joining Berkshire.
During his 33-year career, Pugh has represented the sale of more than $2.1 billion in multifamily and other commercial properties in the Bay Area.
The former Compass commercial division president isn’t the only executive that jumped ship to Berkshire. Brent Thomson, former COO of Compass California, joined the brokerage in February as a strategic growth advisor.
BHHS/DP was started in 2005 and is under the umbrella of Berkshire Hathaway HomeServices. It has grown to become one of the top 13 HomeServices brokerages in the country.
Compass announced a third, and last, round of layoffs at the start of the year. The company will need to reduce its operating yearly expenses to between $850 million and $950 million, the company said in a filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, levels which it believes will allow it to be cash-flow positive by the middle of the year.
New York-based Compass was the top brokerage nationally in 2021 in terms of sales volume. It is attempting to become profitable for the first time since the market downturn and a pullback from Softbank, its largest investor.
Compass’ newly named CFO Kalani Reelitz is tasked with leading the goal of making Compass profitable for the first time after the company posted a $158 million loss in the fourth quarter.
Correction: Previous story didn’t clarify that Pugh was president of the commercial division at Compass California, not the entire organization.
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