Fathom Holdings is the latest brokerage to make a significant C-Suite change. The firm announced Monday that it has appointed its current president and chief financial officer Marco Fregenal as CEO.
Fathom confirmed that current CEO and company founder Joshua Harley, who is stepping down from the role and giving up his seat on the board of directors for “family reasons,” endorsed the succession plan.
“It is my honor to announce that Marco Fregenal will be stepping into the role of CEO to help lead Fathom going forward,” Harley said in a statement. “He has far more experience in growing established businesses like ours has become and I am confident in his abilities and thoughtful decision process.”
In addition to his new role as CEO, Fregenal will continue to serve as Fathom’s CFO until a replacement is found. Fregenal has served as Fathom’s CFO since 2012 and as president since 2018. Prior to this, Fregenal also served as Fathom’s chief operating officer from 2012 to 2017. He has also served on the board of directors since 2019.
“I am honored to take the helm at Fathom at this exciting time in the company’s evolution,” Fregenal said in a statement. “My partnership with Josh, dating back to 2012, has been a privilege, and I’m excited to carry forward his legacy by further strengthening the substantial progress we’ve made so far.”
Despite stepping down from his leadership position, Harley noted that he will remain active as Fathom’s founder and chief evangelist. According to the release, Harley will focus on accelerating Fathom’s agent growth, as well as improving its agent retention, referrals and the attach rate for Fathom’s ancillary businesses.
“Founding and leading this remarkable company has been one of the most profound privileges of my life,” Harley said. “My transition to my new role underscores our dedication to bolstering our agent growth initiatives. We remain steadfast in our belief that there is a substantial opportunity ahead of us to capture market share and position Fathom for accelerated growth.”
Fathom also announced that it was appointing independent director Scott Flanders to replace Harley as chair of the board of directors. Flanders has served on the board since August 2022. He has held executive management positions at several public companies, most recently serving as CEO as eHealth, Inc.
“On behalf of the entire Board, I also want to recognize and thank Josh for his invaluable contributions to Fathom’s growth,” Fregenal said in a statement. “Josh has been instrumental in growing Fathom’s presence nationwide, and we’re deeply grateful for his leadership and guidance. We look forward to his continued contributions as Founder and Chief Evangelist and have left the door open for Josh to return to as CEO and Board Chair, at some point in the future.”
Cary, North Carolina based Fathom was among the biggest movers by transaction sides in the RealTrends 2023 brokerage rankings. It generated 44,707 sides in 2022, up 6,273 from 2021. Per the RealTrends rankings, it had over 10,000 licensed agents who averaged $1.55 million in sales volume in 2022.