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Ten United Real Estate Leaders Recognized for Driving Growth, Embracing Change During the Most Challenging Market in Decades

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United’s nimble shift to new strategic growth initiatives and unwavering support for its affiliates resulted in a 12% growth in agents during 2024, despite a mass exodus of real estate practitioners nationwide.

DALLAS, Feb. 6, 2025 /PRNewswire-PRWeb/ — Ten United® Real Estate (United) leaders are featured among 300 distinguished professionals in RISMedia’s 2025 Real Estate Newsmakers list. The report shines a spotlight on United’s leaders who responded quickly to industry change and seized opportunities for the benefit of its owners, agents and consumers.

United is highlighted for the fifth consecutive year, with ten members featured — the most within its national network to be recognized in a single year. This notable achievement underscores the company’s high-performing team and commitment to improving the financial future of its 25,000 agents, their families, clients and the communities it serves.

United Real Estate CTO David Dickey and United Real Estate Vice President of Marketing Amanda Cline have been named Trailblazers.

    Dickey directs United’s internal product development team, efficiently overseeing its $5M in annual enhancements to its proprietary Bullseye Cloud-Based Productivity Platform. In 2024, Dickey’s team launched LeadBoost which uses AI to optimize agents’ social media advertising spend for referral-free leads and established the foundations for a to-be-released marketplace for agents.

Benchmark Realty (a United Company) CEO and EVP of Strategy for United Phillip Cantrell and Virtual Properties Realty (a United Company) CEO and EVP of Training, Education and Development for United Steve Wagner have been named Influencers.

    Cantrell engineered and managed the launch of United Real Estate’s Financial Wellness Program, encompassing healthcare insurance, financial literacy and wealth management. In just nine months, the program resulted in over $3 million to date in new savings and debt elimination for affiliates. Phillip is also an author and will be releasing his first book “Failing My Way to Success (and Failure)” in 2025.

Premiere Plus Realty (a United Affiliated Company) President Jillian Young has been named a Futurist.

    Young successfully led her firm through significant growth in 2024. She orchestrated an affiliation with United Real Estate, strategically positioning the brokerage for national expansion. Her leadership has empowered Premiere’s 1,500 agents in Southwest Florida with extensive training, ensuring compliance following the NAR settlement.

United Real Estate Vice President of Operations Leigh Ann Bogran and Virtual Properties Realty (a United Company) COO and co-owner of United Country | Premier Properties Jamie Mertz have been named Achievers.

    Bogran led the Talent Attraction Program and developed procedures to enhance national recruiting to drive positive net agent growth in 2024. She implemented the standardization of marketing agreements, collaborated on cross-functional teams to meet agent training & development goals and assisted with the launch of United’s Financial Wellness Program and healthcare plans for affiliates.

United Real Estate President Rick Haase is among three real estate leaders to be invited to join the 2025 Newsmakers Hall of Fame, recognizing a lifetime of achievements in the industry.

    Over the past 30 years, the regional and national companies Haase has served succeeded despite industry headwinds. At United, Haase has been instrumental in accelerating the expansion of the company and is keenly focused on the firm’s mission to change the financial trajectory of agents’ careers and lives.

United Real Estate Group CEO Dan Duffy and United Real Estate | Richmond (a United Affiliate) co-founder John Finn have been honored as Luminaries.

    Duffy challenged his team to see things differently during one of the most difficult markets by turning turmoil into opportunity. United achieved a 12% agent growth in 2024, despite the industry estimating a 6% to 10% decrease in total agents. In 2024, his firm became the fastest-growing with a 727% growth rate over the past five years.

“Hamlet said it perfectly…this is an ’embassage of goodly virtues,’ an ’embarrassment of riches’ of recognition for our United Real Estate team. The accolades for each team member noted are very deserved based on their effort, contributions and results but a bit embarrassing nonetheless. I am regularly astonished by the amazing professionals who are dedicated to improving the financial trajectories and lives of our 25,000 affiliated agents, brokers, auctioneers and employees,” stated Dan Duffy, United Real Estate Group CEO. “I am more excited than ever for United’s future and for what is to come!”

About United Real Estate
United Real Estate (United) – a division of United Real Estate Group – was founded with the purpose of offering solutions to real estate brokers and agents in the rapidly changing real estate brokerage industry. United provides the latest training, marketing and technology tools to agents and brokers under a flat-fee, transaction-based agent commission model. By leveraging the company’s proprietary cloud-based Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, United delivers a more profitable outcome for agents and brokers. United Real Estate operates in 34 states with 170 offices and more than 22,000 agents. The company produced over 73,000 transactions and $26.3 billion in sales volume in 2024.

About United Real Estate Group
United Real Estate Group (UREG) operates United Real Estate and United Country Real Estate, addressing the unique market needs of suburban, major metropolitan urban and rural markets. Utilizing the cloud-based Bullseye™ Agent & Broker Productivity Platform, UREG offers the latest training, marketing and technology tools producing a significant competitive advantage. The platform realizes over a decade-long investment in virtual agent and brokerage technology services and is powered by a 2.6 million listings data warehouse generating over 3 million monthly visitors and 30,000+ leads per year. Together, the United Real Estate Group supports more than 600 offices and 25,000 real estate and auction professionals across four continents. United Real Estate Group produced 90,000 transactions and $30.7 billion in sales volume in 2024. Through its in-house advertising agency, UREG offers differentiating marketing support and collateral for specialized lifestyle property websites as well as access to a 800,000+ opt-in buyer database. For more information about United Real Estate or United Country Real Estate, please visit UnitedRealEstate.com or UnitedCountry.com.

To learn more about United Real Estate, brokerage succession planning, brokerage valuation and sale or franchising opportunities, visit GrowWithUnited.com. Agents interested in learning about career opportunities with United Real Estate can visit JoinUnitedRealEstate.com.

Media Contact

April Gonzalez, United Real Estate, 504-237-3500, AGonzalez@UnitedRealEstate.com, www.UnitedRealEstate.com 

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SOURCE United Real Estate

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Howard Hughes Holdings Set to Join S&P SmallCap 600

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NEW YORK, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Howard Hughes Holdings Inc. (NYSE: HHH) will replace Arcosa Inc. (NYSE: ACA) in the S&P SmallCap 600 effective prior to the opening of trading on Wednesday, October 28. S&P 500 constituent CRH plc (NYSE: CRH) has acquired Arcosa in a deal that closed today, October 23.

Following is a summary of the changes that will take place prior to the open of trading on the effective date:

Effective Date

Index Name  

Action

Company Name

Ticker

GICS Sector

October 28, 2026

S&P SmallCap 600

Addition

Howard Hughes Holdings

HHH

Real Estate

October 28, 2026

S&P SmallCap 600

Deletion

Arcosa

ACA

Industrials

ABOUT S&P DOW JONES INDICES

S&P Dow Jones Indices is the largest global resource for essential index-based concepts, data and research, and home to iconic financial market indicators, such as the S&P 500® and the Dow Jones Industrial Average®. More assets are invested in products based on our indices than products based on indices from any other provider in the world. Since Charles Dow invented the first index in 1884, S&P DJI has been innovating and developing indices across the spectrum of asset classes helping to define the way investors measure and trade the markets.

S&P Dow Jones Indices is a division of S&P Global (NYSE: SPGI), which provides essential intelligence for individuals, companies, and governments to make decisions with confidence. For more information, visit www.spglobal.com/spdji/en/. 

FOR MORE INFORMATION:

S&P Dow Jones Indices
index_services@spglobal.com

Media Inquiries
spdji.comms@spglobal.com

View original content:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/howard-hughes-holdings-set-to-join-sp-smallcap-600-302918511.html

SOURCE S&P Dow Jones Indices

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Chelsea FC announces multi-year sleeve partnership with Sokin, the business payments and FX platform

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Chelsea FC name fast-growing fintech platform as Principal Partner

LONDON, Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — Chelsea Football Club has today announced a multi-year partnership with Sokin, the embedded finance and payments company used by businesses worldwide. Sokin will be named a Principal Partner and Official Business Payments and FX Partner of Chelsea FC and Chelsea FC Women.

As a Principal Partner, Sokin will be represented on the sleeves of the Chelsea FC men’s, women’s and academy home, away, and third kits from the 2026/27 season.

The partnership brings together two ambitious London-headquartered organisations with worldwide reach – a club with millions of fans across the world and a fintech platform through which businesses move more than $11 billion a year. A club of Chelsea’s scale works in many currencies every day, with partners, competitions and supporters around the world, and needs a financial partner built to handle that.

Sokin gives finance teams business payments, multi-currency accounts, foreign exchange, checkout and treasury in one place, so they spend less time juggling banks and providers and keep more of what they move.

As Official Business Payments and FX Partner, Sokin will simplify how Chelsea FC sends, receives and manages money in the currencies the club operates in.

The Sokin logo will feature on the sleeve of the Chelsea shirt for the first time [when the men’s team host Tottenham Hotspur at Stamford Bridge on Saturday 24th October.]

Jason Gannon, President at Chelsea FC said:

“At Chelsea, we seek to partner with organisations that share our ambition and innovative mindset. Sokin’s expertise in business payments, and their focus on making both simpler for the businesses they serve, makes them a natural fit for the Club. We are pleased to welcome Sokin to the Chelsea family and look forward to working together in the years ahead.”

Vroon Modgill, CEO and founder at Sokin said:

“Chelsea plays on the biggest stage in world football, and its business runs in dozens of currencies. Sokin was built for that with regulated, multi-currency payments and foreign exchange for organisations that operate internationally. We’re proud to be the platform behind the business payments and FX of one of the most iconic teams in football. Sokin’s platform serves businesses in more than 170 countries. We’re thrilled to be partners for the season ahead. An organisation as sophisticated as Chelsea doesn’t leave its finances to chance.”

About Sokin

Sokin is the financial layer global business runs on. Businesses can transact, convert and hold money in 70+ currencies across 170+ countries. Some businesses use Sokin to manage global finance in-house. Others build it into their products to power financial experiences for their customers. Businesses move more than $9 billion a year on licenses Sokin holds in 36+ countries and infrastructure Sokin owns. Founded in 2019, Sokin has raised over $100 million from investors including Morgan Stanley Expansion Capital and Prysm Capital.

About Chelsea Football Club

Chelsea Football Club is one of the biggest, most successful football clubs globally and our men’s team are reigning world champions, having won the four-yearly FIFA Club World Cup in 2025. Our women’s team, Chelsea Women, are also multiple trophy winners.

Founded in 1905, Chelsea is London’s most central football club, based at the iconic 40,000-capacity Stamford Bridge stadium. Nicknamed the Blues, the club lifted the Champions League for the first time in 2012 and domestically has won the Premier League five times, the FA Cup eight times, the Football League Cup five times and the Football League Championship once, in 1955.

The Chelsea Women’s team have enjoyed a huge amount of success and in 2025 won the FA Women’s Super League for a sixth consecutive year and the eighth time overall. The Women’s FA Cup has been won on six occasions. We have also captured the FA Women’s League Cup four times as well as reaching the UEFA Women’s Champions League final in 2021. In two seasons, 2020/21 and 2024/25, a domestic treble of trophies was secured.

The Chelsea Foundation boasts one of the most extensive community initiatives in sport, helping to improve the lives of children and young people all over the world.

Media Contacts:

Taina Biggs
taina.biggs@sokin.com 

Nerissa Chesterfield
nerissa.chesterfield@chelseafc.com 

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.co.uk/news-releases/chelsea-fc-announces-multi-year-sleeve-partnership-with-sokin-the-business-payments-and-fx-platform-302918466.html

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Amy Johnson Appointed President of GDIT

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RESTON, Va., Oct. 23, 2026 /PRNewswire/ — General Dynamics (NYSE:GD) announced today that Amy Johnson has been appointed as president of GDIT, effective November 3.

Johnson is a 27-year veteran of General Dynamics Mission Systems, where she held increasingly senior roles in engineering, engineering management and business leadership across cybersecurity, defense electronics, space and intelligence systems, most recently as vice president and general manager for Space, Cyber and Intelligence. She earned bachelor’s and master’s degrees in computer science and computer systems engineering. 

“Amy has a proven track record of leading teams to solve complex and highly technical challenges for our customers,” said Phebe Novakovic, CEO of General Dynamics. “I am confident that her dynamic leadership, operational rigor and deep commitment to our values and culture will deliver value to our customers, employees and shareholders.”

GDIT delivers digital modernization, cloud computing, artificial intelligence, cybersecurity and software development solutions to the U.S. federal government, defense, intelligence agencies and other customers. It is a business unit of General Dynamics, a global aerospace and defense company that offers a broad portfolio of products and services in business aviation; ship construction and repair; land combat vehicles, weapons systems and munitions; and technology products and services. General Dynamics employs more than 120,000 people worldwide and generated $52.6 billion in revenue in 2025. More information is available at gd.com.

View original content to download multimedia:https://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/amy-johnson-appointed-president-of-gdit-302918411.html

SOURCE General Dynamics

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