MARIS MLS Separates Shareholder Ownership from Governance

ST. LOUIS, Oct. 16, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- MARIS MLS, a real estate service company, recently announced governance changes to alter board composition and structure. The change reduces the size of the board from 32 directors to 13. With the goal of improving agility and enabling balanced decision making, the change separates REALTOR® Association Shareholder ownership from governance.

With an altruistic look towards supporting the vision of MARIS MLS, Association Shareholders voted to more fully empower its brokers with control of business operations and strategy. Association Shareholders will continue to oversee aspects of MARIS that are important to maintaining and enhancing their assets via a newly formed Shareholder Council.

"As an Association Shareholder, we are passionate about the success of MARIS MLS, which is why we support the need to move away from appointed seats, and towards a Broker driven board structure that reflects the companies diverse marketplace," said Dan Sale, CEO of St. Louis REALTORS, MARIS's largest shareholder.

With MLS consolidation efforts the company expects the footprint to continue to grow, further emphasizing the need for a structure that ceased adding additional seats with each new shareholder.

The new MARIS Board of Directors is structured to ensure balanced marketplace representation and a diverse perspective for strategic decision making. MARIS Directors are elected according to distinct regional marketplaces, such as: Urban, Suburban, Rural, and Resort.

"The intent is to simplify and better inform decision making, remove boundaries, deepen engagement and closer connect ourselves with the diverse member needs of our marketplace," said Tim Dain, President and CEO of MARIS.

Board make-up.

• 3 appointed by the largest three brokers
• 3 elected from the Urban/Sub-Urban marketplaces
• 2 elected from the Rural/Resort marketplaces
• 1 elected from any state MARIS serves members in that is not Missouri
• 1 appointed from the Association Shareholder Council
• 0-2 (non-voting) named by the CEO of MARIS (approved by the board)
• 1 (non-voting) CEO of MARIS

MARIS brokers welcome this elevated empowerment and involvement. "The MLS is a prized possession for brokers. This change ensures the MLS continues to serve the evolving needs of the real estate community for years to come," said Carole McCabe, Managing Broker for Coldwell Banker Gundaker.

About MARIS: MARIS MLS is focused on enhancing the REALTOR® experience. MARIS currently serves 14 Shareholder Associations across 62 counties in Missouri and Illinois. https://marismls.com

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SOURCE MARIS