DMAR Announces New CEO: Nobu Hata

The Board of Directors of the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS® (DMAR) - an organization comprised of over 7,000 real estate professionals and The Voice of Real Estate® in the Denver Metro area – announced today that it has named Nobu Hata the incoming chief executive officer formally taking on that role in September 2020.

Hata joins Colorado’s largest REALTOR® association from his previous position with the National Association of REALTORS® (NAR) as the director of industry outreach and engagement strategy.

“Nobu is a visionary, forward-thinking, and member-centric leader,” said Euan Graham, Chairman of the DMAR Board of Directors. “Given his accomplished background, it is clear he has an intrinsic and progressive understanding of our REALTOR® culture and business. He has the expertise to continue to elevate the Association in a valuable and meaningful way to the benefit of our members and the organization as a whole – which ultimately continues to positively contribute to the homebuying and selling experience in the metro-Denver market.”

“Representing the Denver Metro Association of REALTORS® has been an honor and I am thrilled for our Association members that Nobu (Hata) has accepted the role to be CEO as I transition into retirement,” stated Ann Turner, CEO of DMAR. “Nobu demonstrates a deep understanding of our industry and the fundamental needs of REALTORS® today in an ever-changing real estate and economic landscape.”

DMAR’s current CEO Ann Turner announced she will be retiring in September 2020 during the Association’s annual 2019 Inaugural Installation and Awards event. Over the past eight years, under Turner’s leadership, DMAR has seen unparalleled growth starting with the merger of the Denver, North Metro, Jefferson County and Douglas Elbert County Association of REALTORS® where she introduced many new programs and services that helped create a progressive and financially secure organization. In November, NAR inducted Turner into its exclusive and honorable Dr. Almon R. (Bud) Smith, RCE, AE Leadership Society for her exceptional contributions to the real estate industry and the profession.

Real estate industry veteran since 1996, Nobu Hata is a dynamic real estate association professional with a member-first leadership philosophy. In his previous role as the director of industry outreach and engagement strategy for NAR, Hata served as a REALTOR® brand ambassador to industry stakeholders which included association staff and executive leadership, state and local member leadership, brokerage owners, technology companies and the 1.3 million members of NAR averaging hundreds of events and over 10,000 stakeholders engaged each year. He worked with Professional Standards, MLS Policy, Association Policy, and Legal and Member Experience teams to connect their policy and content with real world applications.

Prior to that, Hata was NAR’s director of member engagement and director of digital engagement where he provided its leadership with insight and context on issues that REALTORS®, brokerages and local associations face, and disseminated information to members in person and through the digital domain. During that period, he communicated NAR’s positions on various significant issues in the real estate industry, to notably leading such endeavors as fostering young tech companies as a mentor for NAR’s tech incubator, REach.

Before joining NAR, Hata was a REALTOR® with Edina Realty in Minneapolis and then a founding member of the Minneapolis Association of REALTORS®. He has earned accolades from local real estate associations to industry recognitions such as Inman News’ 100 Most Influential in Real Estate for three consecutive years, and Stefan Swanepoel’s Top 200 Most Influential in Real Estate. He served as Chairperson of the NAR Young Professionals Network subcommittee, a member of the NAR Strategic Planning Committee, and as a member of Minnesota Association of REALTORS® Public Advocacy Committee. Furthermore, Hata specializes in connecting federal legislative and regulatory issues to real estate business; he is in the President’s Circle RPAC as an advocate and donor.