Texas REALTORS® President/CEO Travis Kessler to Retire

REALTOR® association work has always been a team sport for Travis Kessler. For the longtime president and CEO, every achievement ties back to the REALTOR® family.

Anytime a personal accomplishment is mentioned, Kessler will point the spotlight on volunteer leaders and association staff. “Texas REALTORS® is where it is today thanks to the engagement of its members,” he says when asked to reflect on his tenure as CEO. “This organization is always working to address the needs of the members. The collaboration of staff, committees, the Leadership Team, and local associations has contributed to the success of Texas REALTORS®.”

He’s also quick to thank the association’s past CEOs and leaders for their guidance and vision. But if you press him, he will get around to reflections on leading Texas REALTORS® since 2010 and his thoughts on retiring at the end of March 2025. He’s excited to spend quality time with his wife, Shelley, and their two daughters and four grandchildren. There’s talk of a family cruise to Alaska next year.

March still feels a long time away for Kessler. Today he’s doing what he’s done every day for the last 15 years: whatever needs to be accomplished to ensure Texas is a great place to buy, sell, and lease real estate, and that the members of Texas REALTORS® are getting the best from their association.

“It was a difficult decision,” he says of retiring. “I’ve been very fortunate to have a lifelong career with the REALTOR® organization. I think it’s rare to start and end in the same industry. I take a lot of pride in my work, and the REALTOR® organization has made a big difference in my life.”

Growing in leadership

Kessler started working for the then-Texas Association of REALTORS® in July 1977, two months after graduating from The University of Texas at Austin. He began in the Education Department, working on the Graduate, REALTOR® Institute program. Kessler left Texas to work for REALTOR® associations in Colorado and Louisiana before coming back to Texas to serve as CEO of the Greater Fort Worth Association of REALTORS®. He spent a decade in Fort Worth and a dozen more years as CEO of the San Antonio Board of REALTORS®.

He is a two-time recipient of the Tom D. Morton Award for local association executive of the year in Texas. In 2009, he was honored with NAR’s prestigious William R. Magel Award, the highest given to an association executive from the national association.

A big believer in continuing professional growth, Kessler proudly displays the credentials he earned as a REALTOR® Association Certified Executive (part of the first cohort to help develop and earn the RCE) and a Certified Association Executive. He’s also been named to the Swanepoel Power 200 list of influential leaders in real estate for the last nine years.

When Kessler became CEO in 2010, Texas REALTORS® had approximately 80,000 members. Today there are more than 150,000. Alongside that growth came an increase in the association’s influence and its service to members.

“The role of CEO has changed tremendously over the years,” he says. “It is not just the importance of responsible management and oversight of staff and volunteers. You wear multiple hats. You need to be as knowledgeable of the industry as a real estate practitioner. You need to keep up with the liability aspect—forms and contracts and changes to the law. You need to have a vision for what’s next. Good or bad, opportunity or challenge, you need to be prepared for it. It’s also important to develop future leaders to get the right people in the right places to play a big part in future growth.”

Building a legacy

It’s hard for Kessler to identify a single proudest accomplishment during his time as president and CEO. “Probably the overall success of the organization,” he replies. “That Texas REALTORS® can operate at the highest levels and have a sustained relevance. We are well-respected as an organization across the country because of our credibility.”

One personal highlight was helping to develop the Texas REALTORS® Leadership Program in the early 2000s. Kessler and other local association leaders had seen how successful leadership programs were through local and state chambers of commerce. “Making leadership training REALTOR®-centric was a pivotal change for our organization. That program has made such a difference for countless members—not just professionally but also personally, in civic participation, and in members’ communities,” Kessler marvels. “It has really transcended the real estate profession and has made a difference in people’s lives, which also benefits our associations.”

He is also gratified by the emphasis on strategic planning that has helped Texas REALTORS® achieve its goals. The association surveys members and incorporates their needs and expectations into the demands of the organization. “It’s like I always say: The strategic plan drives the budget, and the budget drives the resources. Then the staff implements the programs and projects based on the resources.”

He has enjoyed working alongside staff and volunteers to amplify the association’s already successful governmental affairs activities. The association’s strategic approach at the Texas Capitol is always evolving and has led to some of its greatest achievements.

In a world where data is more important than ever, the association’s MarketViewer is another bright spot. This platform of robust, accurate real estate data provided exclusively to members would not exist without the relationships and trust Texas REALTORS® built with local MLSs and the Texas Real Estate Research Center, he says.

Kessler touts the legal resources Texas REALTORS® offers its members, such as 140-plus forms, the Legal Hotline, and risk management information to help members safely conduct business. He continues listing the many services Texas REALTORS® provides, from professional development to Code of Ethics enforcement to technology solutions and more that make Texas REALTORS® a shining example in the country.

“I know that’s a long answer, but it also isn’t long enough,” he jokes. “There have been so many milestones we’ve reached as an association. I can think back and name countless new opportunities, educational sessions, advocacy wins, and innovative programs. I could be here all day. It’s been so valuable to the members, and this relevancy means a lot to me.”

What he’ll miss

While Kessler views his work as serious, you can hear how much he enjoys what he does. His voice brightens as he describes all the ways he stays up to date with industry changes. As he talks, he gestures as though gathering information from several places in front of him.

Connecting with his REALTOR® family also gives him great joy. “I loved the regional meetings each year,” he recalls. “The members are so proud of their hometowns and their reputation in the community. I’m a native Texan, and during these 15 years, I’ve gone to places I’d never seen before in the state.”

Kessler has enjoyed the camaraderie of working with staff, many of whom have been there since before he came on as CEO.

He remembers seeing the association at its very best during the uncertain early days of the pandemic. “We worked with the governor to get real estate designated an essential service,” he says. “We had the reputation and professionalism to be able to achieve that goal. It was a big turning point, and it speaks to the voice the REALTOR® association has.”

Life after March

The Leadership Team, including Kessler, and a search committee of member-leaders are hard at work to identify a new CEO. Whoever is chosen is in rare company. Only four people have served as CEO of Texas REALTORS® in its 104-year history (there were administrators in the association’s early days), and Kessler values the personal connections he made working with the other three: Benny McMahan, Jim Sawyer, and Ervin Luedtke.

It was difficult for Kessler to imagine stepping back from his career, so, naturally, he got to work. “I took a class on how to transition into retirement,” he says, smiling. “You can’t just shut it off. I am having to learn what it will look like when I am no longer in this role.” Just like the meticulous planning he employed as an association executive, he’s drawn up a plan and is excited to focus his energy at home and on other personal endeavors.

Reflecting on his career, Kessler says that real estate association management has always been more than a profession to him. “REALTORS® are helping buyers and sellers build wealth and access opportunities. Real estate is a pillar of the state’s economy. But it’s also the pride of ownership that makes people proud. That’s the same today as it was years ago. You have a place you can call your home. I have such respect for the association and have made life-long friends while working in the REALTOR® organization, and for that, I am truly grateful.”