Pam O'Connor literally moved her way to the top of the luxury real estate world. On the surface, Pam O'Connor's childhood spent moving from location to location following her father in the Navy would seem the perfect background for her current role as president/CEO of Leading Real Estate Companies of the World (LeadingRE). Yet, while her first-hand knowledge regarding relocation doesn't hurt, her experiences in journalism and marketing/public relations might be most beneficial. "Being able to write and communicate, no matter what field, are important skills," says O'Connor, the first woman to head a major real estate network. "Writing business plans or marketing communications or letters are skills that are underestimated and not taught nearly as well as they should be. Real estate is a business where you have to communicate a lot. A lot of what I do is sell ideas." LeadingRE is a network of more than 650 independent brokerages with 5,500 real estate offices and 160,000 associates in nearly 30 countries. The company operates four Web sites, including RELOHomeSearch.com and LuxuryPortfolio.com, and in June partnered with Blogging Systems to provide another tool for community building and marketing.

"We're always looking at trends and how to get in front of them instead of reacting to them," says O'Connor, who graduated with honors from the University of Tennessee with a broadcast journalism degree and got her first job in the promotions department of an Atlanta television station. "At the end of the day, it's about reaching customers. The growth of the Internet is all about convenience. If you give the customer back his time, he will give you his money." Luxury Portfolio not only promotes client properties, it addresses luxury lifestyle along with housing. It has more than 200 members and boasts nearly 10,000 properties, representing a total volume of approximately $20 billion. "Even in the 'managed care' relocation department world of real estate companies, there was reluctance to deal with e-commerce, thinking those weren't serious buyers," says O'Connor. "There was a lack of understanding of the consumer; they're not a different animal, they're just searching in a different way. They might do research at their own pace, but that's where people start their search and you can build loyalty. You have to give up control to get control. If you give consumers what they're looking for, they will come back to you." O'Connor's first foray into the real estate world came with one of LeadingRE's predecessors, All Points Relocation Service, where she worked in communications and marketing. During the early 1980s, she left the company to start a public relations firm specializing in real estate and hospitality, but later returned to All Points as president and CEO.

"None of this was planned; I didn't have a career path and decided I was going to manage a real estate relocation business," says O'Connor, who as a child attended eight schools in 12 years. "When you go to college and learn a certain thing, you feel you should do that when you get out, but I didn't want to write press releases for hardware stores the rest of my life. "This is the last purely entrepreneurial business in the country; every individual in every company is making it happen themselves. The fun part is the relationships. I've met so many people that have inspired me and are great personalities. They work hard and play hard. It's just a great business to be in."

By Ken Weingartner