William M Raveis Jr. - Chairman and CEO

In 1974, Bill Raveis borrowed $2000 from a bank and launched William Raveis Real Estate in an office above a grocery store. Within 10 years, he established a mortgage company, an insurance agency and an award-winning relocation business. Today, William Raveis is the No. 1 independent family-owned real estate company in the Northeast and Florida, according to RealTrends.

Education

1963 - Roger Ludlowe High School, Fairfield, CT
1967 - University of Dayton, Dayton, OH B.S.Business Administration
1970-71 - University of Bridgeport, Bridgeport, CT Fordham University, New York, NY - course work towards Masters of Business Administration
1974 - Graduate of the Realtors Institute (GRI)
1979 - Certified Residential Specialist (CRS) RNMI Charter Member
1984 - Certified Real Estate Brokerage Manager (CRB)

Experience

1968 - United Technology, Stratford, CT Systems Analyst
1970 - Westinghouse International, New York, NY Senior Systems Analyst
1972 - Westinghouse International, New York, NY Supervisor for system design and analysis. Responsible for computer systems and their worldwide operations.
1974 - Opened first real estate office

Professional Memberships and Awards

  • 1988 Entrepreneur of the Year Award from the Ernst & Young company
  • National Speaker - PHH Homequity Convention, NAR Convention
  • Articles Published - Fortune Magazine, Forbes Magazine, Real Estate Today, Real Estate Business, Inc. Magazine
  • Co-Founder and Treasurer of Fairfield County MLS
  • Co-chairman of Connecticut Committee of the Regional Plan Association
  • Board of Directors - Connecticut Trust for Historic Preservation
  • The Greenways Committee - Appointed by former Governor Lowell Weicker to a 25 member committee to develop Connecticut's recreational land
  • Funded Connecticut Audubon Society at the Coastal Center at Milford Point, Milford, CT (1986)
  • Advisory Board - Environment/2000 (Connecticut Department of Environmental Protection)
  • Board of Directors - Institute of American Entrepreneurs
  • Corporate Advisory Board. The Nature Conservancy, Connecticut Chapter
  • Chairman Environmental Committee, Fairfield County 2000
  • Board of Directors - Music Foundation for the Handicapped of Connecticut
  • Chairman - Advisory Council of PHH Homequity
  • Appointed Governor Rowland's Task Force on Open Space Land
  • National Association of Realtors Large Brokers Advisory Council
  • National Association of Realtors Strategic Planners Group
  • Board of Trustees - The Horace Bushnell Society
  • Honored by "Save The Sound" for leadership and inspiration in protecting Long Island Sound
  • Founding Member of the Realty Alliance
  • Chairman and Founder - Home-Link Services, Inc.
  • Founder - American Mortgage Services Company
  • Originator of Home-Link concept - US Government patent
  • Elected to the 2002 Hall of Fame, Junior Achievement of Western Connecticut
  • Designated by Real Trends (Industry Newsletter) as one of "The Most Admired Individuals for 2000"
  • Recipient of the "2003 Community Leadership Award" from The Children's Hospital at Montefiore and the Greenwich/Westchester Committee for Montefiore Medical Center for contributions to programs that promote the health and well-being of both children and adults in the metropolitan area.
  • Honored by Town of Guilford, CT (2006) with a plaque and proclamation in town hall as a token of appreciation for significant contributions made towards improving town residents' quality of life.
  • Honored by UCONN in 2006 as a CT Family Business of the Year
  • Honored in 2008 by the Health Center at UCONN for the support given to fight breast cancer by dedicating and establishing the William Raveis ACS Navigator Care Program
  • Recipient of a Connecticut Quality Improvement Award Innovation Prize (silver) for the RSS and widget innovations exhibited on raveis.com, 2009
  • Selected as The Best Place to Work in MA by the renowned Boston Business Journal's "Best Places to Work" 2010, 2011, and 2012
  • Recipient of the First Place Gold Award in 2008, 2009, 2010, 2011 and 2012 for Commercial Record's "Best Residential Real Estate Firm in CT"
  • Recipient of the First Place Gold Award in 2008, 2009, 2010 and 2011 for Banker & Tradesman's "Best Residential Real Estate Firm in MA"
  • Honored with 1st place in the Fox News and Hartford Courant's "Top Workplace in CT" 2011, 2012, and 2013
  • Honored with 1st place in the Hearst CT Newspapers "Top Workplace in CT" 2013 and 2014
  • "Winner of Inman News' 2011 Innovator Award for "Most Innovative Brokerage in the Nation"
  • Recipient of the Connecticut Quality Improvement Award for Agent Dashboard 2012
  • Contributor to Blog.raveis.com nationally acclaimed by Inman News a source for real estate news and trends
  • Honored by Operation Hope of Fairfield, Inc. (2014) for meaningful contributions to the community
  • Real Estate Executive Magazine - Top 100 Most Influential Real Estate Executives in America
  • Recipient of the 2017 Family-Owned Business Award by the Westchester and Fairfield County Business Journals
  • Honored by Moffly Media / Light a Fire 2017 A Celebration of Giving / Dedicated Health Advocate Award
  • Recipient of Top Luxury Brokerage Award 2018 in U.S. by Leading Companies of the World
  • Honored by Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation (2019)
  • Recipient of the Realtor Emeritus Award 2019. This status is awarded in recognition of forty plus years of membership in the National Association of Realtors and in recognition of valuable and lasting contributions to the real estate profession
  • Former member of the Board of Directors (2020) for the Museum of American Revolution, Philidelphia PA
  • Former member of the Board of Directors and the Marketing Committee (2016-2020) for the Damon Runyon Cancer Research Foundation, New York City
  • No. 1 independent family-owned real estate company in the Northeast and Florida, according to RealTrends
  • Nantucket Historical Association Presenting Sponsor, Nantucket by Design
  • Naples Botanical Garden Presenting Sponsor, Hats in the Garden
  • The Naples 100, Collier County's Most Influential Business Leaders Award
  • RISMedia 2023 Real Estate Newsmakers Hall of Fame Recipient
  • Winner Inman Top Brokerage 2023
  • Honored for 50 years in business by His Excellency Governor Ned Lamont with Connecticut State Proclamation (March 27, 2024)
  • Proclamation from the Town of Fairfield in recognition for 50 years in business (June 7, 2024)

Publications

  • Raveis, William M., Jr. (2015). The Way of the Entrepreneur: Lessons from the Journey to Build a Family-Owned Business Empire. Shelton, CT: Raveis House.
  • Raveis, William M., Jr. (2015). The Ten Noble Rules For Business and 53 Lessons for Entrepreneurs. Shelton, CT: Raveis House.
  • Raveis, William M., Jr. (2022). The Vision and The Passion: Continuing the Journey to Build a Family-Owned Business Empire. Shelton, CT: Raveis House.
  • Raveis, William M., Jr. (2022). The Ten Noble Rules of Compassionate Leadership: 62 Takeaways from The Vision and The Passion. Shelton, CT: Raveis house.