Every year in January, the Swanepoel Power (SP) 200 celebrates the power players in residential real estate — those who are making powerful moves at a national, and sometimes even multinational, scale.
It’s not easy to get on the list. Each of the 200 leaders included in the rankings have been carefully selected by a team of executives from US-based T3 Sixty, who evaluate contenders based on the scope and power of their position, the financial resources they have at their disposal, whether they have equity stake in their company, and their overall impact on the industry, amongst more.
This year’s rankings include a neat collection of Canadian industry leaders, including returnees like Royal LePage’s Phil Soper and Carolyn Cheng and TRREB’s John DiMichele. All said and done, here are the Canadians that made the cut.
Philip “Phil” Soper
Role: CEO of Royal LePage, President and CEO of Bridgemarq Real Estate Services
Rank: 12
What the SP 200 said: “Soper runs Canada’s largest real estate brokerage enterprise, Bridgemarq Real Estate Services, which owns and operates the brands Royal LePage, Via Capitale, Johnston & Daniel and Proprio Direct in Quebec, which it formally integrated in early 2024. The company, which serves more than 20,000 agents through its brokerage and franchise operations, launched an investment platform targeting individual real estate investors in 2024. The top executive at Canada’s largest real estate company since 2004, after he oversaw the restructure of Royal LePage into a publicly traded company under the Bridgemarq name, Soper remains among the most powerful leaders in real estate.”
Gavin Swartzman
Role: CEO, Peerage Realty Partners
Rank: 42
What the SP 200 said: “Swartzman runs Peerage Realty Partners, which owns a network of brokerages in the luxury real estate space across North America, and, collectively, operates the U.S.’s eighth largest brokerage. The firm — which does approximately $23 billion in annual sales — has grown through acquisitions of large brokerages, many of them affiliates of Sotheby’s International Realty. Before joining Peerage in 2014, Swartzman oversaw 15 partner firms and real estate activity across MDC Partners’ entire network.”
John DiMichele
Role: CEO, Toronto Regional Real Estate Board
Rank: 53
What the SP 200 said: “DiMichele manages the Toronto Regional Real Estate Board (TRREB), North America’s largest local Realtor board with over 73,000 members. Regarded as one of the sharpest leaders in the organized real estate world, he strengthened his leadership bench in 2024 with the addition of Kevin Crigger as an associate CEO. DiMichele helped establish PropTx, TRREB’s MLS and technology services subsidiary, which the association expanded in 2024 as part of an effort to develop a province-wide database. He also serves as chair-elect of the Council of Multiple Listing Services.”
Christopher Alexander
Role: President, RE/MAX Canada
Rank: 55
What the SP 200 said: “Alexander has helmed Canada’s largest real estate franchise brand since 2021. As president of Re/Max Canada, he oversees operations in all Canadian provinces but Quebec, which remains independent, although he works closely with their leaders to build comprehensive brand strategy. Alexander, who began his career as a Re/Max sales associate in 2010, is the grandson of Frank J. Polzler, who co-founded the first Re/Max region in Atlantic Canada in 1980.”
Martin Charlwood
Role: President and CEO, Century 21 Canada
Rank: 57
What the SP 200 said: “As head of Century 21 Canada, one of the franchise’s most successful regions globally, Charlwood oversees nearly 400 offices across Canada. He succeeded his father, who launched the firm in 1976, as CEO. He is also a director at Charlwood Pacific Group, which owns the Centum real estate franchise in Canada and Century 21 Asia-Pacific as well as Uniglobe Travel International and Real Property Management (Germany, Mexico, France and Spain rights).”
Brant Morwald
Role: President, Constellation Real Estate Group (a Constellation Software company)
Rank: 97
What the SP 200 said: “In 2024, Morwald became president of Constellation Real Estate Group, a new division that encompasses all the real estate offerings of the large holding company Constellation Software. In this role, he oversees Constellation1 – the real estate tech unit that offers a variety of tools including Market Leader, Top Producer and Showcase IDX – and a new distinct real estate data services division. He joined the Toronto, Canada-based real estate tech company in 2019 as director of business development and later worked as its vice president of data services."
Carolyn Cheng
Role: COO, Royal LePage (a Bridemarq Real Estate Services company)
Rank: 141
What the SP 200 said: “As chief operating officer, Cheng oversees the development of new services for Canada’s 110-plus-year-old company Royal LePage, a division of Bridgemarq Real Estate Services with over 20,000 agents. COO since 2016, she has overseen the company’s introduction of new services since 2003. The London School of Economics grad is also an award-winning landscape photographer who has shown her work In Canadian galleries.”
Janice Myers
Role: CEO, Canadian Real Estate Association
Rank: 161
What the SP 200 said: “In 2024, Myers joined the Canadian Real Estate Association as its CEO. In her first year, she began exploring transitioning CREA’s online portal (realtor.ca) into a for-profit subsidiary (a move the CREA membership supported in an October vote). Prior to taking the leadership role at CREA, Myers led the Ottawa Real Estate Board for a decade and was executive director for a British Columbia real estate board for 12 years prior to that.”
Morgan Carey
Role:
Founder and CEO, Real Estate Webmasters
Rank: 165
What the SP 200 said: “Carey runs Real Estate Webmasters, which provides websites, lead generation and customer relationship management tools to over 35,000 North American real estate professionals. In 2024, the Vancouver, Canada-based company added budget allocation and transaction reporting features to its platform, launched a new CRM with data visualization and automation features, and a new website feature allowing agents and brokers to display their compensation for their own listings. Carey founded the company in 2004.”
