CR Magazine – Winter 2017

PASSION.
POISE.
PURPOSE.
Before 2017-2018
Chicago Association
of REALTORS ®
president Rebecca
Thomson embarks
on a new leadership
opportunity, she
asks herself, “Can
I be effective,
and do I have the
bandwidth?”
In addition to her demanding job
as the Vice President of Agent
Development at @properties,
these questions are paramount to
her deciding to step up and accept
a new leadership challenge.
Thomson prides herself on her
ability to spearhead change.
“I focus on the team and the
collective — where are we trying
to go, and how can we get
everyone on board to propel us
forward?” It’s one of the reasons
she’s had a “meteoric,” by some
accounts, rise to leadership in the
REALTOR ® community.
Her status as a leader isn’t
surprising to those who know
her best — her deep devotion
to professionalism and intense
dedication to goal-setting, paired
with a knack for spotting talent
and “insanely nerdy” tendencies,
are all keys to her success.
Thomson had her first taste for
sales while working at Banana
Republic. “I loved it,” she said. “I
wanted to find a way to stay in
sales and to somehow make a
difference.” Right after graduating
from the University of Illinois in
Champaign-Urbana, she signed
up for a pre-licensing course and
quickly knew that real estate was
the right path. “It was exactly what
I had been looking for; real estate
gave me the opportunity to have
an impact both on the lives of my
clients and in my community as
a whole.”
Thomson found herself starting
from scratch and first built her
business calling sellers posting
for-sale-by-owner ads on Craigslist.
Continued on page 13
10 Chicago REALTOR ® Magazine