Intero Franchise Blog

The Intero team

Gino Blefari
Founder, President and CEO

Gino Blefari has more than 25 years of experience in real estate sales, development and management, from branch offices to regional and national operations.

Founded in 2002 by Mr. Blefari, Intero Real Estate Services Inc. has quickly become one of the premier real estate brands in the country. At the 2007 NAR Conference & Expo Blefari was given the prestigious RISMedia National Home Ownership Award for “outstanding achievements among residential real estate’s most influential and charismatic leaders.” In July of 2005 Intero Real Estate Services was recognized by REALTOR® Magazine as the fastest growing real estate company in the nation. REALTOR® Magazine, the official magazine of the National Association of REALTORS®, ranked Intero #1 out of the approximately 80,000 brokerages nationwide in growth of sales and transaction sides with 167.6% and 128.3% increases respectively.

Currently, Intero Real Estate Services has more than 40 offices serving four states; California, Colorado, Nevada and Texas. Recently Intero has also ventured into international markets with operations in Mexico. Mr. Blefari possesses a passion for mentoring and he shares his cornerstones of success with fellow real estate professionals: time management, discipline and commitment.

Mr. Blefari began selling real estate in 1984 and for the next 14 years was a top-producing agent selling more than 50 homes per year. During this time, he excelled at three different positions: as an agent, a manager and a chief operating officer. As a manager at Contempo Realty in 1988, he quickly set out transforming the Cupertino office from the lowest producing branch into the company’s number one office. Soon after, Mr. Blefari was promoted to chief operating officer and a partner where he oversaw the daily operations of 18 Contempo offices and their respective branch managers. In 1997, Contempo Realty was purchased by NRT (also know as Realogy), a nationwide real estate brokerage company, and soon after, Mr. Blefari was named president of the new Century 21 Seville Contempo Company, operating in the Northern California region. As president, he was credited with increasing the company’s profits by 280% in his first year on the job. By 2000, he not only had the top five offices in the region, he had seven of the top eleven offices within Century 21’s 6,300 worldwide offices. With this success as chief operating officer Mr. Blefari, already an award-winning REALTOR, now had proven his exceptional abilities. And in 2001, he was subsequently promoted to senior vice president of NRT, where he began working on a national level. In addition to his on-the-job mentoring, Mr. Blefari is a faculty member at De Anza College where he teaches real estate courses and is a former director of the National Association of REALTORS®.

Mr. Blefari has been involved in the communities where he works and lives for years. He was recognized for this involvement when he received the 2007 Achievement Award in the Business and Professional category by the Italian American Heritage Foundation. Also, in recognition of Mr. Blefari’s green business practices and support, EcoBroker International awarded him the 2006 EcoBroker Community Service Award out of more than one million brokers and agents nationally.

Mr. Blefari graduated from San Jose State University in 1978 with a Bachelor of Science degree in Business Administration. He resides in Los Altos, California with his wife, Joanie, and daughters Alexandra and Lauren. In his spare time, Mr. Blefari, an avid reader, enjoys skiing, golf and weight lifting. In addition, he is an passionate gardener, raising redwood tree seedlings and donating them in order to benefit the community at large.

Robert Moles
Chairman

During his tenure, Intero has grown into one of the Top 25 real estate companies nationally with more than $5 billion in sales volume. In addition to his duties as Chairman, Mr. Moles currently has Board of Director roles with several companies including Heritage Bank of Commerce, Trulia, Santa Clara University, University of San Diego and RE InfoLink. A self-proclaimed student of real estate for more than 27 years, Mr. Moles is widely regarded as a distinguished leader in the industry and a keen observer in the areas of policy and market trends.

Prior to joining Intero, Mr. Moles was the President and CEO of the Real Estate Franchise Group of Cendant Corporation, the largest franchiser of residential and commercial real estate brokerage offices in the world. As CEO of the group, Moles oversaw the Century 21®, Coldwell Banker®, Coldwell Banker Commercial®, ERA® and Sotheby’s International Realty® real estate companies, which combined have more than 13,000 franchised offices and more than 262,800 brokers and agents worldwide.

In 1997, Mr. Moles was named President and CEO of Century 21 Real Estate Corporation, the world’s largest residential real estate sales organization. During his tenure as President and CEO, he is credited with re-establishing and enhancing the brand’s leadership position with the introduction of its ‘Vision 2100′ strategic plan. Under Vision 2100, the company initiated and completed the following programs: an award-winning advertising and promotions campaign, a state-of-the-art technology-based training platform, a redesigned and enhanced Web site, a new Internet-based transaction reporting system, and an improved franchise support system. Prior to Century 21, Mr. Moles was President/CEO of Contempo Realty, Inc., in Santa Clara, CA. Under his leadership, Contempo’s annual transaction volume grew from $85 million to more than $2.4 billion.

Mr. Moles is recognized as a leader in the area of developing relocation and financial services for brokers. He has led the industry in advocating the creation of value-added services for the purpose of recruiting and retaining agents, and to meet the ever-changing needs of today’s consumers.

Tom Tognoli
Founder, Chief Operating Officer, Vice President and Managing Officer of Intero Saratoga

Tom has over 20 years of real estate experience. As part of Intero’s senior management team, Tom has helped shape Intero into one of the premier real estate companies in the nation.

Tom believes in Intero’s philosophy to support sales agents with innovative technology and remain on top of the Internet evolution in showcasing Interorealestate.com, Interoresorts.com, Interoopenhouses.com, agent web-pages and property listings. Tom is convinced that Intero’s progressive initiatives will continue to attract and maintain top producing real estate agents for years to come.

Tom’s hard work and enthusiasm in creating an atmosphere centered on Intero’s core values is evident by his successful stint as Vice President and Managing Officer of Intero Cupertino. His accomplishments at the Cupertino branch include; managing the #1 office company-wide, recruiting more than 120 agents and spearheading the development of Agent Achieve, Intero’s former agent productivity intranet. Currently he not only holds the title of Chief Operating Officer but also is the VP and Managing Officer of Intero’s Saratoga Office. As COO Tom is at the forefront of technology driving new online marketing strategies and taking advantage of social media opportunities. Also with a new technology partner, Terabitz, Tom drove the development of Intero’s new public website, and is shaping Intero’s NEW exclusive agent productivity tool.

When it comes to building a better brokerage Tom encourages people, especially Intero agents, to change their thoughts and as a result they will change their lives and business in a positive direction. Along with many Intero agents and management, Tom is a proponent for overall healthy living. Tom has been a facilitator in bridging the gap between Intero real estate professionals and physical and nutritional experts. Before most even wake up for the standard work day, Intero Bootcamp is taking place where Intero staff and agents gather to exercise and socialize. Tom also has been the liaison in establishing relationships with wellness and fitness companies to improve the overall health of the Intero team. Many at Intero are better prepared for the agility needed to be flexible to the extreme demands of the changing real estate market.

Tom is a lifelong resident of the Bay Area. He is active in the community and supports charities including the Make-A-Wish Foundation and The Intero Foundation. Tom enjoys golf, snowboarding, fitness training and spending time with his family.

John Thompson
Founder, Vice President and Managing Officer of Intero Los Altos and Intero Palo AltoMenlo Park

Mr. Thompson was born and raised in Silicon Valley, and has over 15 years experience in residential real estate and managing branch operations.

Mr. Thompson.s goal at Intero is to create a company with the highest professional and ethical standards in the industry, while ensuring a commitment to giving back to the community. He is passionate about creating an energetic environment that is results oriented, but one that also focuses beyond simply selling a lot of homes. His desire is to seek out people who think and dream big, and are interested in professional and personal growth. Daily exposure to people with positive attitudes and influences, who are excited about challenging their limits, is his goal. It is his belief, that if these are your priorities, it is the surest way to become a better salesperson and serve the customer and community at a higher level.

Mr. Thompson received his degree in Business Administration with an emphasis in Finance and Marketing from the University of California at Berkeley in 1985. Mr. Thompson enjoys golf, attending sporting events, traveling, the piano and going to the gym. He resides in Los Altos with his wife, Danielle; sons, Trace and Tanner; and their English Mastiff, Lola.