National Association of Realtors CEO stepping down; ex Chicago Sun-Times CEO tapped as interim hire

abcnews.go.com:

The CEO of the National Association of Realtors is stepping down nearly two months before his planned retirement, a move that comes just two days after the trade group was dealt a punishing judgement in federal court over its rules on real estate agent...

LOS ANGELES — The CEO of the National Association of Realtors is stepping down nearly two months before his planned retirement, a move that comes just two days after the trade group was dealt a punishing judgement in federal court over its rules on real estate agent commissions.

The Chicago-based NAR said Thursday that Bob Goldberg would be stepping down after a 30-year career at the trade association. Nykia Wright, former CEO of the Chicago Sun-Times, was tapped to take over on an interim basis, beginning Nov. 20.

In June, Goldberg announced plans to retire on Dec. 31. His early exit comes during a rough week for the NAR. On Tuesday a federal jury in Kansas City, Missouri, ordered the trade group and some of the nation’s biggest real estate brokerages to pay almost $1.8 billion in damages after finding they artificially inflated commissions paid to real estate agents.

The class-action lawsuit was filed in 2019 on behalf of 500,000 home sellers in Missouri and some border towns. The verdict stated that the defendants “conspired to require home sellers to pay the broker representing the buyer of their homes in violation of federal antitrust law.”

The NAR said it plans to appeal.

In a statement Thursday, Goldberg said: “After announcing my decision to retire earlier this year, and as I reflected on my 30 years at NAR, I determined last month that now is the right time for this extraordinary organization to look to the future."

Goldberg will serve as an executive